Latest news with #SenateBill120
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New report finds tipping rates at a six-year low in Illinois
A new report supports ending subminimum wages in Illinois. The report, done by One Fair Wage, found financial stability for tipped restaurant workers is coming harder and harder to live off of. Here's what to know about the report. One Fair Wage is a nonprofit organization with the goal to end subminimum wage, or wages for tipped workers below the state mandated minimum wages, nationally. One Fair Wage joined SIEU in the state capital to rally to raise the minimum wage for senior healthcare workers. The focus of the rally held on March 18 surrounded minimum wage workers in the senior healthcare industry and Senate Bill 120, sponsored by State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, to raise the minimum wage for senior healthcare workers from $18 to $20 an hour. The report released by OFW in April first highlights annual tipping rate drops, average annual earnings made by tipped employees and the impacts of cost of living increases on the dining industry. According to OFW, analytics and report information drew on data from Federal Labor Statistics, payroll data from ADP and Toast and firsthand accounts from Illinois workers and employers. The report highlights how tipped workers, the majority of whom are women and people of color, are seeing their wages and financial stability collapse under the weight of an outdated subminimum wage system. In the state, the subminimum wage for tipped workers in Illinois is still just $9 an hour compared to the $15 minimum for other workers in the state. Over 198,000 tipped workers go to their jobs on the daily basis in Illinois, for a median income of $16,733 a year, including tips. To put that in perspective, according to the 2025 poverty guidelines, that income is 100% under the federal poverty line for a household of one. One long term impact of subminimum wage not adjusting with the times is burnout from employees leaving the workforce, and the signs are already visible. Now hiring stamped across doors to restaurants, a demand for servers and shift workers who are increasingly hard to find to fill positions. More: Accessing local journalism is even easier with the State Journal-Register app According to the report, Chicago, which is a fair wage city, research comparing fair-wage states to subminimum-wage states shows that fair-wage states have maintained strong growth rates in the number of restaurant establishments and workers. California, for example, has experienced a 12.9 percent increase in small business restaurants compared to a 5.4 percent increase in small business restaurants in Illinois from January 2020 to February 2022. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows in the short time Chicago and Washington, D.C. have started raising tipped workers' wages, the number of positions in restaurants and establishments have remained consistently employed. The Illinois Restaurant Association has announced its opposition to the legislation in Illinois and disagrees that it will increase pay for tipped workers. In a statement from 2024 when a state bill ending subminimum wage was first filed, the association said the bill will do "more harm than good." "These changes will lead to job cuts, an increase in labor costs, and ultimately force restaurant owners to make difficult decisions that will negatively impact their workers and result in higher prices for customers," IRA said. A full copy of the report can be found at Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@ and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: New report finds tipping rates at a six-year low in Illinois
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
KY lawmakers will ban trans folks from the bathroom but won't stop real child predators
Some Kentucky legislators puffed up their chests last week because they called the cops on a transgender woman who used a restroom at the Capitol. What big men they are, so intent on keeping our children safe from predators in our midst. Except they don't actually care about keeping our children safe from predators in our midst. For the third year in a row, an omnibus bill to address teacher sexual abuse failed in the General Assembly. Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, took up the issue after the Lexington Herald-Leader found that a majority of teachers who lose their licenses do so because of sexual misconduct. Guess what? The vast majority of cases are not about gay or transgender people. Instead, they involve male teachers and teenage girls. The legislation has been tinkered with a lot over the past three years, and it has broad bipartisan and teacher organization support. House Bill 36 would stop problem teachers from being shipped from one district to another and banning nondisclosure agreements between teachers and school districts about teacher misconduct involving minors, including sexual misconduct. The bill also would increase disclosure requirements about past misconduct and improve current training. Right now, teachers get some training, but not about inappropriate relationships between teachers and students. Incredible as that sounds, they still need it. The legislature did pass two piecemeal bills: Senate Bill 120, which would make it clear that coaches have to report abuse and neglect, including sexual misconduct, and Senate Bill 181 would make it clear that students and adults can only communicate via already-approved communication means. These are good steps, but they don't do enough. Tipton told my colleague Beth Musgrave that some people were still worried about false accusations. But there is plenty of due process to deal with that. Right now there aren't enough ways to stop bad actors from floating around school districts. Tipton's bill needs to become a top priority for next session. Kudos to him for his diligence and patience on this matter. But in this session, a lot of lawmakers went after after the things they think are dangerous, such as Black history, clean water and transgender folks, who are, by the way, a tiny percent of the population just trying to live their lives. What if instead they tried to stop the verifiably bad people who traumatize and abuse our children? Once again, it is the height of hypocrisy to target a man wearing a dress in the Capitol while, as we speak, a man wearing pants somewhere is sexting with one of his students.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia Senate OKs anti-DEI school policies after debating meaning of ‘anti-racism'
A Senate committee passed a revived plan to ban DEI in Georgia schools and colleges. (Stock photo by) In the final days of Georgia's 2025 legislative session, Senate Republicans passed a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion policies in schools and colleges through a committee by stripping out another bill expanding paid leave for teachers. House Bill 127 is the revival of Senate Bill 120, which did not pass the Senate by a key legislative deadline and would otherwise be dead for the year. The original bill by Dawsonville Republican Brent Cox expanded the number of sick days teachers could use to be absent for personal or professional reasons from three to five. The version that passed the Senate Education and Youth Committee Thursday instead builds on language by Tyrone Republican Sen. Marty Harbin that bars schools and colleges from practices like promoting the different treatment of or provides benefits to people based on their race, color, sex, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity or sexual orientation. Committee Chair Billy Hickman, a Statesboro Republican, read the names of about a dozen people who came to speak at the hearing but said they would not be heard because there was not enough time. Under the bill, postsecondary institutions would also be barred from promoting ideas such as 'unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, gender ideology or theory, microaggressions, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neopronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, racial privilege, sexual privilege or any similar or related formulation of these concepts' as their official opinions. The sponsor, Sylvania Republican Sen. Max Burns, compared the concept to college basketball. 'It's March Madness, and we're all watching the tournament,' he said. 'I have 6'11' basketball players. I have 5'11' basketball players. They're not all the same size, but they all compete on the same floor. Some would suggest that's not equitable because they're not all 5'11' or they're not all 6'11'. At the end of the day, the equality issue is their ability to compete and achieve based upon their performance, so you can't treat people differently or provide special benefits to them based upon their protected class.' Democrats including Dawson Sen. Freddie Powell Sims opposed the legislation. 'Very few Blacks embrace DEI,' said Sims, who is Black. 'Let me tell you why. We never thought after civil rights bills were passed that we would have to acquiesce to that because we thought that there would be a fair, level playing field. The DEI is here for opportunities only. I don't want to go to your country club. I don't want to go to church with you. I don't want to sit at your dining room table. I enjoy being with my Black girlfriends –' '– I want you to know you're welcome at my church,' Burns interrupted. The two talked over each other. 'But I'm not done yet, no no no,' Sims said. 'Yeah, you are (welcome),' Burns interrupted again. 'I have members of my church –' 'But we wanted opportunity,' Sims said. 'And we wanted to be able to have those opportunities, especially in the workplace.' Sims said instead of equality, Black people experienced other forms of discrimination like white flight and characterized DEI as a means of attaining economic opportunity. 'Again, Blacks don't particularly care for DEI. We want to be considered as intelligent, as equals –' '– as peers, as colleagues,' Burns interrupted. ' –but we know that that's as long as we live on this earth,' Sims continued. 'It's not going to be accepted. So having said that –' '– I hope we both live long enough that that is not true,' Burns interrupted. The University System of Georgia has not used race as an admissions factor since at least 2001, but Atlanta Democratic Sen. Elena Parent questioned whether the bill could ban affinity groups like the University of Georgia's Black Law Students Association. 'The University of Georgia can have any association that is appropriate, that does not discriminate,' Burns said. 'If that Black student law association is willing to accept individuals of any color, that's not discriminatory.' Cumming Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal said the bill fits in with the values of the times. President Donald Trump signed an anti-DEI executive order in January, and major companies have announced they are scaling back or eliminating DEI initiatives. 'I think that part of the reason that we are seeing Fortune 500 companies abandon DEI policies in droves – in fact, the Fortune 500 companies that are keeping DEI policies in place are now the outlier – and I think the reason for that is the equity piece has really been co-opted by neo-Marxists who are focused on this concept of equal outcome,' Dolezal said. Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler said the bill would ensure those who died in the struggle for civil rights did not die in vain. 'Before the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, isn't it true, there were, in particular, there's people of other backgrounds, but in particular, people of Black descent, African American descent, Blacks in our nation, who were more highly qualified to get to the University of Georgia, University of Alabama and other schools, who were denied access because of their skin color. Is that true? And the victory of the Civil Rights Movement was that people who were fully qualified were no longer denied access, but could get access like others, correct?' Burns agreed. 'At the end of the day – and I was challenged to live through the Civil Rights Movement, and most of you haven't had that challenge – I had friends who were one of the first African American students at the University of Georgia,' Burns said. 'We worked together, we communicated closely, we had dinner together, we socialized together. They were no different, but they overcame the challenge of preparing themselves to have access to higher education. We want to provide that access, we want to provide the skills and materials to ensure that they have that opportunity. At the end of the day, equal protection is essential.' Atlanta Democratic Sen. RaShaun Kemp took umbrage at the inclusion of 'anti-racism' in the long list of concepts that postsecondary institutions would not be able to promote as official opinions and asked to amend the bill to remove that word. 'I'm really concerned that the word anti-racism is in there,' Kemp said. 'Mr. Chairman, you spoke about wanting equality, and I'm curious to know why the word anti-racism is included in this if you are saying that you oppose racism, and if you could give me the definition of anti-racism?' 'That's a series of issues that would not be a part of a official position of a post-secondary institution,' Burns said. 'Anti-racism would be something where individuals would be opposed to racism.' 'So why is that a bad thing, we should not promote that?' Kemp asked. 'Well, you should not promote the reverse,' Burns said. 'Anti-racism, don't promote racism. Is that not true?' 'Anti-racism is opposing racism and promoting equality,' Kemp said. 'So why are we including anti-racism as something that we should not promote in the state of Georgia?' 'To not have a position on,' Burns said. 'So do you think we should have a position in support of racism?' Kemp asked. 'I believe we should ensure that everyone has equal opportunities,' Burns said. Dolezal told the committee the term anti-racism has been co-opted by unsavory elements in society. 'These are ideologies rooted in neo-Marxism focused on centralizing the means of production, focusing on the outcomes and assuming that outcomes are tied to systemic racism,' Dolezal said. 'They were a key factor that led to the riots in 2020, that led to billions of dollars of damage in this country. So anti-racism is a very specific thought, I should say ideology, currently in culture, and it is not some kind of nebulous idea. There are volumes of books written around the concept of anti-racism, and it is anti-capitalism and in many cases it is anti-American.' Setzler proposed an alternate amendment to capitalize Anti-racism in the bill so as to distinguish the good anti-racism from the anti-American one, and Democrats agreed. The session is set to end on Friday, April 4. If the DEI bill is to become law, it must pass both chambers and receive Gov. Brian Kemp's signature. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia House Minority leader speaks out on DEI ban bill that did not advance on Crossover Day
COLUMBUS,Ga (WRBL) — Senate Bill 120 did not advance on Crossover Day. Georgia House of Representatives Minority leader Carolyn Hugley says whenever they're able to stop a bill that would adversely affect the community, it is considered a win. Senate Bill 120 was a bill that would have banned all public schools, colleges, and universities from engaging and operating DEI programs. This bill did not advance on Crossover Day. Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley says she is happy her colleagues in the Senate decided not to put the bill forward. Hugley says, 'It was really going to be a step back. And I continue to say that we cannot embrace hare and put hate into our laws because we know what that looks like and we've already been there before, and Georgia deserves better than that.' Though the bill did not advance on Crossover Day, it is still alive and could be revisited later in the year. The revisiting would require the author finding a similar code section in a House bill, script it out, and send it back for the house to agree or disagree on. Hugley says revisiting legislation is usually difficult as more legislation is introduced. 'Anything can happen, and a bill can say it's about mom and apple pie in the subject, but it could be totally different,' Hugley explains 'We are in a moment where things can change drastically, if not for ourselves, for those who are coming along after us,' Hugley says. 'And so, it is our…moment to be involved or be engaged, to be alert to request or I should say, to demand of those who represent us to look out for the best interests of the communities that they have when we look at it.' WRBL has reached out to Republican lawmakers and are still awaiting responses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republicans Pull the Plug on Senate Bill Banning DEI in Georgia Schools — for Now
Georgia Democrats celebrated late Thursday night after state Senate Republicans tabled a bill that would've pulled government funding from public schools and colleges that maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Senate Bill 120 made headlines earlier this week after it advanced out of committee, sparking fears among some that initiatives aimed at increasing and promoting Black representation and tolerance in Georgia could be impacted. Failing to get passed in the state Senate or the state House by Thursday's Crossover Day deadline means SB 120 won't be signed into law as a standalone bill this year, but it could still be added as an amendment to another bill that has advanced before this year's legislative session ends on April 4. State Sen. Harold Jones, D-Augusta, said he was 'happy' when the chamber adjourned around 10 p.m. Thursday without bringing SB 120 to the full Senate floor. He said he and members of his party are 'cautiously optimistic' that the legislation won't be signed into law this year, but he's not letting his guard down yet. 'In the General Assembly, nothing truly goes away until Sine Die at midnight,' Jones told Capital B Atlanta on Friday, using the Latin term for the last day of the year's 40-day legislative session. State Sen. Sonya Halpern, D-Atlanta, said the failure of SB 120 to advance was a win for Georgia students, educators, and businesses. 'This bill was never about fairness — it was about fear,' Halpern said via text message Thursday night. 'It sought to censor honest discussions, dismantle programs that create opportunity, and undermine our ability to compete in a diverse, global economy.' The bill's author, state Sen. Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone, told reporters inside the Gold Dome Thursday night that he thinks the legislation had enough support to pass, but he and his GOP colleagues decided against putting it up for a full Senate vote at the last minute due to concerns over the language. 'We had some concerns, and we want to do it right,' Harbin said after the Senate ended its session. In its present form, the legislation would bar local schools, members of the Technical College System of Georgia, and members of the University System of Georgia — which includes most public colleges and universities — from promoting, supporting, or maintaining DEI programs. Supporters of SB 120 have echoed talking points championed by President Donald Trump and members of his administration in their efforts to dismantle DEI programs at the federal level. Harbin told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this week that SB 120 would 'restore academic excellence and fairness at Georgia's colleges.' 'For too long, DEI initiatives have moved beyond their original intent and have become ideological filters that stifle free speech, enforcement of group identity over individual merit and promote a culture of division rather than unity,' he said. Critics have argued the SB 120's language is too vague and could unintentionally impact programs it wasn't meant to address, such as scholarships, internships, training programs, and student organizations that promote inclusion of marginalized groups, which includes white women, members of the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities. 'These spaces bring students of all backgrounds together in community,' Georgia Tech student Raine Rinehart, who serves as an organizer with the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, said in a statement cited by the ACLU of Georgia. 'On a campus full of people from countless backgrounds and countries, how can we thrive without programs that advocate for diversity?' Harbin noted that other states, including Indiana and Iowa, have advanced bills seeking to ban DEI in schools this year. He didn't rule out adding SB 120 as an amendment to another bill that made the Crossover Day deadline, pointing out that state lawmakers get two years to secure passage of bills once they're introduced. He also didn't rule out presenting SB 120 again during next year's legislative session. 'This is a biennial [legislative session],' Harbin noted. 'We'd rather do it right than do it halfway.' Jones acknowledged that white women have benefited the most from DEI programs, but noted that initiatives like affirmative action have also benefited Black Americans. He pushed back on the notion that Black people shouldn't care about DEI programs, calling it 'ahistorical.' He said the reason DEI hasn't been more effective in the advancement of African Americans is because those who oppose DEI programs have been undermining them since the Civil Rights Movement. 'Ever since the inception of affirmative action, people have taken affirmative action to court to actually gut its principles,' Jones said. 'The better way to do it is actually enforce it instead of fighting against it.' The post Republicans Pull the Plug on Senate Bill Banning DEI in Georgia Schools — for Now appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
