Bill Text: OH SCR22 | 2009-2010 | 128th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: As Introduced 128th General AssemblyRegular Session2009-2010S. C. R. No. 22 Senator Morano
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-11-18 - To Insurance, Commerce, & Labor [SCR22 Detail]
Download: Ohio-2009-SCR22-Introduced.html
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Senator Morano
Cosponsors:
Senators Cafaro, Miller, D., Turner, Strahorn, Schiavoni, Miller, R., Fedor, Smith, Sawyer
| To urge the Congress of the United States to enact | 1 |
| House Resolution 3303, the Wage Theft Prevention | 2 |
| Act. | 3 |
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING):
| WHEREAS, Wage theft is a serious problem in this country and | 4 |
| has affected those employees who can least afford to lose their | 5 |
| pay and, given these difficult economic times, the nation must | 6 |
| ensure that hard-working Americans earn the compensation to which | 7 |
| they are entitled and ensure that legitimate complaints of wage | 8 |
| theft are given a thorough investigation; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, The Wage Theft Prevention Act amends the | 10 |
| Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 to toll the statute of limitations | 11 |
| for bringing a cause of action for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid | 12 |
| overtime compensation, or liquidated damages under the Fair Labor | 13 |
| Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., the Walsh-Healey Act, 41 | 14 |
| U.S.C. 35 et seq., or the Bacon-Davis Act, 40 U.S.C. 376a et seq., | 15 |
| starting from the time the United States Secretary of Labor | 16 |
| notifies an employer of the initiation of an investigation | 17 |
| regarding a cause of action under those laws until that employer | 18 |
| is notified of the conclusion of the investigation; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, An undercover investigation by the United States | 20 |
| Government Accountability Office found that complaint intake, | 21 |
| complaint resolution, and investigation processes of the Division | 22 |
| of Wage and Hour within the United States Department of Labor were | 23 |
| ineffective and discouraged workers from lodging wage theft | 24 |
| complaints; and | 25 |
| WHEREAS, For example, in several of the Division's regional | 26 |
| offices, staff were directed to record only successful complaint | 27 |
| resolutions in the staff's database, making the Wage and Hour | 28 |
| Division appear better at resolving wage and hour complaints than | 29 |
| the Division actually is, and in addition, the Government | 30 |
| Accountability Office found that, because of the lack of | 31 |
| resources and staff, investigations on wage theft and child labor | 32 |
| violations were frequently delayed by months or years; and | 33 |
| WHEREAS, The ineffectiveness of the Wage and Hour Division's | 34 |
| investigations and procedures leaves thousands of low-wage workers | 35 |
| vulnerable to wage theft, and because of the Wage and Hour | 36 |
| Division's delays, an employee's right to file a lawsuit could be | 37 |
| jeopardized; now therefore be it | 38 |
| RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the State of Ohio | 39 |
| urges the Congress of the United States to enact House Resolution | 40 |
| 3303, the Wage Theft Prevention Act, to allow employees to bring | 41 |
| an action for wage theft and to allow the Division of Wage and | 42 |
| Hour to conduct an investigation to assist low-income employees in | 43 |
| need; therefore be it further | 44 |
| RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly | 45 |
| authenticated copies of this resolution to the President of the | 46 |
| United States, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of | 47 |
| Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and the Secretary of | 48 |
| the United States Senate, the members of the Ohio Congressional | 49 |
| delegation, the United States Secretary of Labor, the Governor of | 50 |
| the State of Ohio, and the news media of Ohio. | 51 |
