Latest news with #SenateLaborCommittee
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New bill would remove some protections for temporary workers in New Jersey
The new bill comes less than two years after the law known as the "Temp Workers Bill of Rights" went into effect. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) The sponsor of 2023 legislation that created new workplace protections for temporary workers blasted a new bill that would remove many of those safeguards. 'I believe in equal pay. I believe in equal benefits for equal work,' Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union) told the Senate Labor Committee Monday. The new bill, which the committee discussed but did not vote on Monday, comes less than two years after the law known as the 'Temp Workers Bill of Rights'' went into effect. That law requires employers to provide basic information on jobs in workers' native language and guarantees a minimum wage to an estimated 127,000 temporary workers, staffed mostly in warehouses and factories. Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), sponsor of the new bill, had voted in support of the earlier law, which passed after a years-long push by labor advocates who said the state's temporary workers were victims of exploitative job conditions and wage theft. Sarlo's bill seeks to make several key changes to the temp worker law. The current law requires staffing agencies to pay temp workers the same pay and benefits given to full-time workers performing the same work. Sarlo's bill would revise that to remove the benefits provision and leaving only equal pay. Under the bill, equal pay would mean the agency is required to pay the equivalent of a client's entry-level pay rate for a worker with minimum qualifications. A provision of the law requiring staffing agencies to disclose pay rates would also change under Sarlo's bill, which would reverse that requirement. The law also applies to New Jersey temp workers who take jobs in other states. Sarlo's bill would ax that provision, saying it is 'causing third-party clients in other states to reduce their use of temporary laborers from New Jersey.' Mike Nolfo, a franchisee for Express Employment Professionals, said his company employs nearly 2,000 temporary workers daily at 300 local businesses. Nolfo supports the new bill, and said it's an opportunity to help mom-and-pop shops that are struggling because of the new law. He agreed that Pennsylvania companies aren't using New Jersey agencies because of state laws. 'We lost virtually all of our clients in East Stroudsburg because of this law, because they just don't want to comply with it,' he said. 'There's a lot of pieces to it. We're not saying the whole thing. Some of it doesn't make sense.' The temp worker law passed out of the Legislature in February 2023 with the minimum number of yes votes a bill needs to pass the Senate, 21. It went into full effect that summer. Staffing agencies and business groups sued over the law, claiming it is unconstitutionally vague and makes New Jersey less competitive. Cryan noted the plaintiffs have lost all their legal challenges. Cryan said supporters of the new bill say it's aimed at cleaning up mistakes in the law, but he called the measure 'far from that.' Opponents of the bill said weakening the protections of temporary workers only hurts vulnerable people who are abused and exploited in the workplace. Nedia Morsy, executive director of immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New Jersey, said it's 'stunning that in a climate of federal attacks on workers, on immigrants, and on the institutions that protect both, that a bill like this would even see the light of day.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawson, Ciccone form alliance in race for RI Senate president; Pearson is alternative
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Senate Majority Leader Val Lawson and Senate Labor Committee Chairman Frank Ciccone have struck a deal to try and take over leadership of the chamber following the death of Dominick Ruggerio, Target 12 has learned. The proposal is for Lawson, 58, to serve as Senate president and Ciccone, 77, to serve as majority leader, according to a half-dozen State House insiders familiar with the discussions. It remains unclear if the pair have locked down the votes necessary to win. Lawson, D-East Providence, and Ciccone, D-Providence, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. The Lawson-Ciccone alliance is facing a serious challenge from former Majority Leader Ryan Pearson, D-Cumberland, who has been putting together his own coalition of senators and is said to see an alternative path to the presidency. 'This is a time for us to bring the Senate together and have us working as a unified team for the people of Rhode Island,' Pearson, 36, said in a statement. 'I am seeking my colleagues' support based on my past record of working with each of them as Finance chair and majority leader delivering on their priorities and meeting the diverse needs of their districts.' Top senators have been loathe to go public about the behind-the-scenes machinations regarding the presidency out of respect for Ruggerio, who died Monday at age 76 after an extended battle with cancer. But there has been a nonstop flurry of phone calls, text messages and leaks all week among those involved. Several people familiar with the matter — who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation — suggested no formal action would be taken until after Ruggerio's funeral Mass is celebrated Monday morning. The winning candidate will need 19 votes to become president. Ruggerio ousted Pearson and replaced him with Lawson last fall after the Senate president took offense when Pearson broached the subject of the leader's health at a private meeting. The rupture culminated in a tense caucus meeting last fall, where a group of Senate Democrats tried unsuccessfully to remove Ruggerio from the top job. The pairing of Lawson, a more liberal senator, with Ciccone, a more conservative one, could create tensions around some legislation. Ciccone, who has worked as a gun dealer, has opposed the proposed Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban Act that has significant support among senators. Both senators have deep ties to organized labor. Lawson, a former East Providence teacher, is the current president of the National Education Association Rhode Island teachers' union. Ciccone was a longtime official with the powerful Laborers' International Union. One of the biggest outstanding questions about Lawson's candidacy is whether she will step down as president of NEARI. John Marion, executive director of the good-government group Common Cause Rhode Island, said it would be difficult for her to avoid conflicts of interest if she were to serve simultaneously as both Senate president and head of a powerful union. 'Unlike the other 37 members of the Senate, the president has unilateral agenda-setting and appointing power,' Marion said in an email. 'The previous two Senate presidents have stepped away from their day jobs when they assumed that role, making potential conflicts easier to avoid.' 'However,' he added, 'given that our part-time legislature does not pay a living wage, not everyone can afford to give up their day job when they become Senate president or speaker of the House.' Ciccone has survived negative headlines in the past, as well. In 2012, he lost his committee chairmanship after a police report revealed he tried to intimidate Barrington police officers while they were arresting Ruggerio on suspicion of drunk driving. Referencing retirement benefit reductions enacted the prior year, Ciccone reportedly told the officers: 'You think you got pension problems now?' Ciccone was also fined $1,500 by the R.I. Ethics Commission in 2008 for failing to report all the information required on his annual financial disclosure form. Ted Nesi (tnesi@ is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi's Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill ending subminimum wages for disabled workers falters in Senate — and other labor news
Nicholas Costanzo, 31, rings up a customer at the Golden Scoop, an ice cream and coffee shop in Overland Park, Kan. Photo by Kevin Hardy/Stateline. Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Bill to end subminimum wages falters; Republican bill would let workers send union dues to anyone; Hennepin Healthcare resident physicians move to unionize; U.S. Senate confirms Trump's labor secretary; and fired NLRB member returns to work. A bill backed by Gov. Tim Walz to phase out subminimum wages for disabled workers by 2028 barely made it out of the Senate Labor Committee on Tuesday, signaling it's unlikely to make it to the governor's desk this year. Under a federal program known as 14(c) created in the New Deal of the 1930s for disabled soldiers, certain employers can pay less than minimum wages to disabled workers based on their productivity, usually for repetitive tasks like shredding documents or stuffing greeting cards in plastic sleeves in sheltered work environments. Most of these employers are organizations that also provide disability services and supervision. Opponents of the program, including disability rights groups, argue the practice is demeaning and exploitative while often trapping disabled people in menial jobs. 'Subminimum wage is an antiquated system that has continued to survive due to so many ideas that simply aren't true, the worst of which is that people aren't capable of more,' Jillian Nelson, policy director at the Autism Society of Minnesota, told the Senate Labor Committee on Tuesday. But supporters of the program, including many parents of severely disabled workers, say their children truly aren't capable of landing a job in the mainstream workforce. If they were, they would already be working for higher wages. They argue eliminating the subminimum wage will shutter work programs for disabled people, depriving their children of a meaningful experience and the opportunity to earn any wages. James Clapper told the Senate Labor Committee his son, Bob, has made incredible strides in his skills and productivity in the 17 years he's worked under the 14(c) provision, and his hourly wage has increased accordingly from about $2.35 to a little over $9. 'He does require close supervision and has very limited language skills so probably has reached his potential,' Clapper said. 'If 14(c) is eliminated in Minnesota, he will not likely make it to competitive integrated employment and may end up in just life enrichment and volunteer work only, which is unacceptable.' At least 16 states have already eliminated the subminimum wage, while the Biden administration proposed phasing out issuing 14(c) licenses. Minnesota has been moving toward eliminating the program as well, with a state Task Force to Eliminate Subminimum Wages recommending the Legislature end the practice by Aug. 1, 2025. The number of people paid a subminimum wage has been on the decline in recent years — now just over 3,000 workers in Minnesota — in large part because of a concerted effort to move disabled people into mainstream jobs. Some employment service providers like Richfield-based Lifeworks have voluntarily exited the 14(c) program and instead focus on supporting disabled workers in finding and maintaining jobs in the mainstream workforce. Keeri Tramm, director of disability initiatives at LifeWorks, told lawmakers that after the organization made the transition in 2017, some workers moved to competitive employment while others chose to retire or pursue non-work activities. Just one person opted to continue with subminimum wages through a different provider, Tramm said. Last year, the organization helped more than 500 people find or maintain work, with new hires earning on average more than $15 an hour. Yet Republicans and some Democrats remained skeptical that the 14(c) program should be eliminated altogether if it means ending work opportunities for the most severely disabled. 'I want to make sure that these folks have an option to get in the door to employment,' said Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, before voting with Republicans on an amendment that would have effectively killed the proposal. The bill (SF2149), authored by Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, was sent to the health and human services committee without a recommendation for its passage. Five Minnesota House Republicans introduced a bill to let union members send their dues to any 'national, state or local organization of their choice.' It's a unique variation on so-called right to work laws, enacted in 26 other states, that make paying union fees optional. In Minnesota, private sector workers covered by union labor agreements must at least pay 'fair share fees' to support the cost of the union's collective bargaining. The bill (HF2240) is certain to fail in an evenly divided House and Democratic-controlled Senate but nevertheless sends a message about Republicans' priorities should they win control of state government. Republicans have enjoyed a growing base of support among working-class voters even while sticking to a traditionally conservative policy agenda on unions, the minimum wage and worker safety laws. Labor leaders say the bill is an attempt to hurt unions by siphoning away funds they use to negotiate contracts, challenge unfair labor practices, organize new workers and lobby for worker-friendly legislation. 'What it comes down to is they want less power for unions,' said Brad Lehto, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO. Proponents of right to work say requiring workers to pay any fees as a condition of employment at a unionized job infringes on workers' freedoms and forces them to bankroll political activities they may not agree with. The bill's lead author, Rep. Ben Bakeberg, a Republican school administrator from Jordan, was not available for comment. The bill includes public sector workers, although it would have no meaningful effect on them. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that public employees could not be required to pay union fees because it infringed on their right to free speech. Since then, public sector unions have seen a significant drop in membership, though not as much as expected and they continue to be an influential force. About one-third of public-sector workers are union members nationally, about five times as high as the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public sector unions have also seen a surge in new members since the Trump administration launched an unprecedented assault on the size of the federal workforce, with the American Federation of Government Employees growing to a record size. A majority of the more than 200 resident physicians at Hennepin Healthcare announced their intent to unionize on Wednesday, joining a wave of organizing campaigns by doctors and advanced health care providers across the country. Hennepin Healthcare resident physicians say they earn low wages while being pushed to the breaking point during long days treating some of the state's sickest and poorest residents at the major Level I trauma center in downtown Minneapolis. Resident physicians work under the supervision of attending physicians for several years after medical school, often putting in grueling 80-hour weeks. With a starting salary of around $67,000, residents complain they earn around the Minneapolis minimum wage of $15.97 an hour. Attending physicians are not unionized at Hennepin Healthcare, and it's still rare for doctors — traditionally the most privileged and valued of hospital staff — to pursue collective bargaining to improve their wages and conditions. But the consolidation of health care is making doctors increasingly feel more like workers on assembly lines than masters of their own practices. The petition will be reviewed by the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services, which oversees public sector unions. If the agency verifies that a majority of the bargaining unit has signed in support of unionizing, then the union will be certified without holding another election. President Trump's Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer won Senate confirmation on Monday by picking up 17 Democratic votes including from Sen. Amy Klobuchar which more than offset the three Republicans who rejected her nomination. Chavez-DeRemer, a one-term Oregon congresswoman, hopes to bridge the divide between Republicans' growing working-class base and the party's traditional pro-business agenda. The daughter of a Teamster, Chavez-DeRemer had the backing of Teamster President Sean O'Brien, who has curried favor with Trump by speaking at the Republican National Convention and declining to make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election. Chavez-DeRemeber was a rare Republican co-author of the labor-backed Protecting the Right to Organize Act — PRO Act — which would weaken red states' 'right-to-work' laws. Those laws bar unions from charging fees to non-members who are covered by their collective bargaining agreements. The bill would also add penalties for employers that violate labor law and make it easier for workers to unionize. But during her Senate confirmation hearing, Chavez DeRemer walked back her support for the bill while not fully disavowing it, which did not seem to satisfy ardent supporters or opponents of the bill. Chavez-DeRemer takes the helm of the agency that investigates labor abuses and worker injuries — with the directive to carry-out massive layoffs as the president and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency purge the government of tens of thousands of workers. National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox returned to work on Monday to cheers from supporters after a federal judge ruled that she was illegally fired by Trump, writing that 'an American president is not a king.' The firing paralyzed the board, which oversees union elections and unfair labor practice complaints, because its remaining two members were not enough for a quorum to issue decisions. 'If we can't function … there are people who are waiting every day for our decision,' she told supporters, according to HuffPost. 'So for every day that a decision is not issued, we are really not doing our jobs.' NLRB members are supposed to be shielded from presidential removal, except for neglect or malfeasance. The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling in a case that could greatly expand presidential power if it goes before the conservative supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislators aim to codify limits on non-disparagement agreements
Bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sens. Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex), above, and Declan O'Scanlon (D-Monmouth) would codify court-set limits on how non-disparagement and other confidentiality agreements can shield workplace abuses. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) New Jersey lawmakers are moving to codify court-set limits on confidentiality agreements that would bar workers from speaking publicly about retaliation, harassment, or discrimination. The Senate Labor Committee on Monday will weigh whether to extend a state prohibition on non-disclosure agreements to other types of confidentiality agreements that could bar speech about workplace abuses. 'We shouldn't be allowing powerful employers to bully people into not speaking out when speaking out is absolutely the right thing to do and should be their right,' said bill sponsor Sen. Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth). The move follows a unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court from May on the state's existing ban on settlement and contract provisions prohibiting victims from discussing claims of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. The court ruled that the ban also extends to non-disparagement agreements. That statute was enacted in 2019 through amendments to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination sponsored by former state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen). It bars confidentiality agreements in those circumstances but names only non-disclosure agreements. 'The intent of the original Weinberg bill was to address this issue in totality. It didn't, but it's a simple fix. Both myself and Senator O'Scanlon want to ensure there is no possible question of what the legislative intent was,' said bill sponsor Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex). The absence of non-disparagement and other types of confidentiality agreements drew attention after Neptune Township moved to enforce provisions of its settlement with former police sergeant Christine Savage. Neptune alleged that, during a 2020 television interview where Savage referred to the township's 'good ol' boy system,' she violated non-disparagement provisions of a settlement reached to resolve her claims of gender-based discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. A trial court judge agreed with the township, and an appellate panel found the non-disparagement was legal, though they ruled Savage had not run afoul of the settlement's confidentiality provisions because her comments repeated already public information and focused on present conduct rather than past conduct. The Supreme Court then sided with Savage. The Supreme Court's decision means the bill, first introduced in 2022, would change little if it becomes law, though it would at least settle concerns about a future Supreme Court issuing a different interpretation of the statute. 'Court cases can change. I don't think this one will, but the bill was already in the works, and there's no harm in codifying this,' O'Scanlon said. O'Scanlon added the bill could serve as a message of support to victims of workplace abuses. The bill would also remove provisions of existing law that exempt collective bargaining agreements from the prohibition. Zwicker said that language made it into the original legislation over lawmakers' concerns about overstepping into union negotiations. He noted collective bargaining contracts typically contain similar workplace protections and said lawmakers would consult with counsel to determine whether it is necessary to end the exemption. 'I don't want to carve out a loophole here in any way, but I want to talk to a labor lawyer about that in particular before deciding whether we should keep that or remove it,' Zwicker said. The bill is not expected to face many barriers as it moves through the Legislature. The Senate unanimously approved the 2019 legislation and the Assembly passed that bill in an overwhelming bipartisan vote. Even the removal of the collective bargaining is unlikely to draw naysayers, O'Scanlon said. 'That would be pretty stunning, if they're going to come out in the light of day and say, 'In our contracts, entities should be allowed to bully people and harass them without any accountability,'' he said. 'Good luck. Please come out.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
