Apparently it’s the “Equality” part of “Equality State” that many representatives don't understand
By Sarah Gorin and Dan Neal
ESPC lobbyists
Last week, we asked “What part of ‘Equality State’ don’t legislators understand?”
After today’s vote on House Bill 142 - Discrimination, we think it must be the “Equality” part.
HB 142 simply added “sexual orientation or gender identity” to several places in Wyoming statutes that already prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national identity, religion/religious belief, sex, age, economic status, pregnancy, political affiliation, disability, ethnic background, ancestry, or inability to pay.
This bill provided an opportunity for those voting against recognition of gay marriages to leave that issue behind and go on record as opposing discrimination in such areas as employment, choosing juries, schools, and public accommodations (doesn’t that ring a bell, baby boomers?).
It’s little wonder that stories continue to emerge about students bullying their GLBT peers in schools and cyberspace, when their adult role models are so clearly sending the message that sexual orientation is adequate cause for demoting individuals to second-class status.
Please thank the representatives who voted for HB 142, and question the ones who didn’t.
Ayes: Representatives Barbuto, Blake, Bonner, Brown, Byrd, Campbell, Childers, Connolly, Craft, Esquibel (Ken), Freeman, Gingery, Goggles, Greene, Illoway, Kasperik, McOmie, Petroff, Roscoe, Shepperson, Steward, Throne, Wallis, Zwonitzer (Dan), Zwonitzer (Dave)
Nays: Representatives: Berger, Blikre, Botten, Brechtel, Buchanan, Burkhart, Cannady, Davison, Edmonds, Eklund, Gay, Greear, Harshman, Harvey, Hunt, Jaggi, Kroeker, Krone, Loucks, Lubnau, Madden, McKim, Miller, Moniz, Nicholas (Bob), Patton, Peasley, Petersen, Quarberg, Semlek, Stubson, Teeters, Vranish
Excused: Representative(s): Lockhart, Pedersen
For some funny and pointed observations on this subject, click on the link below to Mary Kettl’s column in the January 30 Casper Star-Tribune.
"The things we conceal and carry" by Mary Kettl
And While We’re Back in Time ….
Remember when southern politicians invoked “nullification” to preserve segregation in the face of federal civil rights laws? We’re back in time again, bringing “nullification” to bear on federal health care reforms.
Tomorrow, SJ 2 and HB 35 will be on final reading in the Senate and House, respectively. SJ 2 proposes to amend the Wyoming Constitution to say that Wyoming residents cannot be compelled to participate in any particular health care system or penalized for refusing to participate.
HB 35 began by criminalizing activity by any public servant to implement the Affordable Care Act, but now has been amended to a political tirade. It offers nothing in the way of health care.
While no one would argue that the Affordable Care Act is a perfect piece of legislation, it at least attempts to find solutions to the critical problems of uncompensated care, massive cost-shifting, cost containment, and the lack of transparency and accountability on the part of insurers.
Its initial implementation already has brought better health care to many Wyomingites, such as the previously uninsured who now can obtain affordable coverage through the federal high-risk pool, for young adults who can be covered on their parents’ policies, and to small businesses which are looking into utilizing the tax credit to purchase coverage for their employees.
The sponsors of these bills have not offered any ideas on how to keep our hospitals and nursing homes afloat or keep medical providers in our communities. Please use the HOTLINE information below to let your legislators know that it’s time to dump the politics and focus on actual health care.
Tipped workers
Two bills heard in committees Monday aimed to make changes in laws regulating pay for tipped workers.
HB131 – Tip sharing allows employers to require tipped employees to contribute to a pool shared by other tipped workers. Federal law limits the sharing to 15% of tips earned above the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour. Advocates say it enables a fairer distribution of tips among all of a businesses tipped workers.
The measure was approved unanimously by the House Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee after it adopted an amendment that makes plain that the employer cannot be paid from the pool.
Late Friday evening Rep. Cathy Connolly (D-HD13, Laramie) presented HB181 – Wage rates – penalties to the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee as a “small step” needed to make sure that tipped workers, particularly those working in restaurants, are paid the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour for each hour worked. The bill provided tipped workers an opportunity to request a confidential investigation by the state Department of Employment if they could show that an employer was not paying the “tip offset.”
Tipped workers can be paid a minimum wage of just $2.13 per hour. If they don’t make the equivalent of $5.12 in tips for each hour worked in a week, the employer must make up the difference. Connolly’s bill also provided that if an employer failed to pay the difference, the employee could file a civil action to recover three times the amount due or $100, whichever was greater.
The committee defeated the bill, however, amid concerns from Rep. Keith Gingery (R-HD23, Jackson) that it did not provide for an appeal process for employers. Connolly tried to counter that worry with a promise to bring a floor amendment but the committee voted 4-5 to kill the bill.
League of Women Voters Lobbyist Marguerite Herman said the committee could address all its worries simply by dropping the exemption that allows employers to pay tipped workers a direct wage of just $2.13 per hour.
Herman's proposal is the real solution to the whole problem for tipped workers.Removing the exemption eliminate all the bookkeeping required to make certain a workers wages and tips bring the worker to $7.25 an hour.
But the legislature has refused to consider raising the tipped minimum and that's why Rep. Connolly offered this much smaller step address some of the issues surrounding the system. Many workers fear to complain when they're cheated out of wages, fearing retribution that could cost them their job.
Chairman Elaine Harvey, Rep. Joe Barbuto (D-HD48, Rock Springs), Rep. Bernadine Craft (D-HD17, Rock Springs) and co-sponsor Rep. Matt Greene (R-HD45-Laramie) voted for the bill.
Reps. Gerald Gay (R-HD36, Casper), Gingery, Hans Hunt (R-HD2, Newcastle), David Miller (R-HD55, Riverton) and Frank Peasley (R-HD3, Douglas) voted Nay and killed the bill.
Editor's note: As we post this, the LSO server is busy and we cannot provide the links to these bills. We will update the blog later with those links.
Participate
Citizens can register their opinions on specific legislation by using the “Online Hotline” or the telephone Hotline – 1-866-966-8683 or, in Cheyenne, 777-8683.
Showing posts with label minimum wage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label minimum wage. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sunday, November 7, 2010
What's next for Wyoming?
GOP landslide brings questions about future course
The GOP landslide on election day leaves observers wondering how major issues facing the state will be addressed. Wyoming Republicans pushed Democrats to the lowest point in years in the state legislature and swept all five statewide offices, including, as expected, the governorship.
Governor-elect Matt Mead, the former U.S. attorney for Wyoming under President George W. Bush, won the open seat with 72% of the vote.
Mead has promised to join the states suing to overturn the Affordable Care Act. On the campaign trail, he referred to a state pilot program as Wyoming’s answer to questions about covering the uninsured and holding down costs – even though the pilot (which is a health care plan, not health insurance) has yet to be implemented, much less evaluated. Wyoming residents will be looking for Mead’s ideas on keeping community hospitals and nursing homes solvent, meeting the state’s need for primary care providers and addressing rising premiums for Wyomingites fortunate enough to have insurance.
Mead has said he will resist increases in the state’s minimum wage, which stands now at just $5.15 per hour for workers not covered by the federal minimum wage. He has expressed support for sealing the border to stop illegal immigration, while also stating that legal immigration makes our country better. At the state budget level, it is unclear how Mead’s administration will address funding for infrastructure needs in communities around the state, or deal with fluctuations in state revenues.
Republicans captured 50 of 60 seats in the Wyoming House, taking nine seats that had been held by Democrats the past two years. In the Wyoming Senate, the GOP won 13 of 15 seats, reducing the number of Democrats to four out of 30 members. Senate Minority Leader Katherine Sessions was defeated by Leslie Nutting, an opponent of health care reform and reproductive rights. Nutting will be the only woman in the Senate. The small number of Democrats raises questions about committee assignments.
Although Wyoming legislators perennially campaign against over-regulation, past efforts to overhaul or “streamline” regulations have resulted in only minor tweaks as lawmakers and citizens come to realize how regulations protect the state’s communities and natural resource base as the mineral industries boom and bust. With new developments such as the near-disappearance of the mule deer herd on the Pinedale Anticline and possible contamination of groundwater near Pavillion by fracking, Wyoming residents probably will be cautious about giving energy extractors a freer hand.
Historically, Wyomingites also have been reticent to intrude into each other’s private lives, as evidenced by the defeat of a ballot initiative banning abortions and, more recently, the defeat of efforts to amend the Wyoming Constitution to prohibit gay marriage or civil unions. Bills on these topics may be offered in the 2011 session, even though they seem at odds with conservative views on keeping government out of private decisions.
The election results point toward opportunities to test reality against rhetoric. Just as support for the Affordable Care Act has gone up as people begin to experience its benefits, it may well be that support for budget cuts or intrusive legislation will go down as people see such proposals play out.
The GOP landslide on election day leaves observers wondering how major issues facing the state will be addressed. Wyoming Republicans pushed Democrats to the lowest point in years in the state legislature and swept all five statewide offices, including, as expected, the governorship.
Governor-elect Matt Mead, the former U.S. attorney for Wyoming under President George W. Bush, won the open seat with 72% of the vote.
Mead has promised to join the states suing to overturn the Affordable Care Act. On the campaign trail, he referred to a state pilot program as Wyoming’s answer to questions about covering the uninsured and holding down costs – even though the pilot (which is a health care plan, not health insurance) has yet to be implemented, much less evaluated. Wyoming residents will be looking for Mead’s ideas on keeping community hospitals and nursing homes solvent, meeting the state’s need for primary care providers and addressing rising premiums for Wyomingites fortunate enough to have insurance.
Mead has said he will resist increases in the state’s minimum wage, which stands now at just $5.15 per hour for workers not covered by the federal minimum wage. He has expressed support for sealing the border to stop illegal immigration, while also stating that legal immigration makes our country better. At the state budget level, it is unclear how Mead’s administration will address funding for infrastructure needs in communities around the state, or deal with fluctuations in state revenues.
Republicans captured 50 of 60 seats in the Wyoming House, taking nine seats that had been held by Democrats the past two years. In the Wyoming Senate, the GOP won 13 of 15 seats, reducing the number of Democrats to four out of 30 members. Senate Minority Leader Katherine Sessions was defeated by Leslie Nutting, an opponent of health care reform and reproductive rights. Nutting will be the only woman in the Senate. The small number of Democrats raises questions about committee assignments.
Although Wyoming legislators perennially campaign against over-regulation, past efforts to overhaul or “streamline” regulations have resulted in only minor tweaks as lawmakers and citizens come to realize how regulations protect the state’s communities and natural resource base as the mineral industries boom and bust. With new developments such as the near-disappearance of the mule deer herd on the Pinedale Anticline and possible contamination of groundwater near Pavillion by fracking, Wyoming residents probably will be cautious about giving energy extractors a freer hand.
Historically, Wyomingites also have been reticent to intrude into each other’s private lives, as evidenced by the defeat of a ballot initiative banning abortions and, more recently, the defeat of efforts to amend the Wyoming Constitution to prohibit gay marriage or civil unions. Bills on these topics may be offered in the 2011 session, even though they seem at odds with conservative views on keeping government out of private decisions.
The election results point toward opportunities to test reality against rhetoric. Just as support for the Affordable Care Act has gone up as people begin to experience its benefits, it may well be that support for budget cuts or intrusive legislation will go down as people see such proposals play out.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Two bills help ensure insurance
And what’s happening to the minimum wage bill?
Frustration with insurance companies and their efforts to avoid paying benefits has contributed to rising public sentiment to make companies provide the benefits they seemingly promise customers. Two bills that will give insurance customers a chance of standing up to these big companies when they are denied benefits have cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate File 62, the Discretionary Clause Prohibition Act, will help protect consumers by barring the inclusion of “discretionary clauses” in insurance contracts sold in Wyoming. Doing so will help ensure a fair hearing for people forced to challenge in court an insurer’s determination of benefits.
Supporters include the American Heart Association, the Cancer Action Network, the League of Women Voters and the ESPC.
Senate File 95, Medical Necessity Review Procedures, is a companion bill that sets up an external review procedure when a health insurance carrier denies benefits. If a patient’s doctor recommends a treatment that the insurer denied, a neutral medical expert would review the case.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Tony Ross of Cheyenne said he and Sen. Kathryn Sessions (also of Cheyenne) met with Blue Cross Blue Shield lobbyist Rick Schum over the weekend to discuss the bill. They put together a number of amendments that used notification and appeal rights included in federal law, refined the definition of who can serve as a neutral expert, and otherwise attempt to assure a fair review process.
The same groups support this bill. Members of the public who believe consumers deserve a more fair relationship with insurance companies should contact their state senators and urge them to back both bills.
Is $2.13 an hour a slave wage?
A bill to raise Wyoming’s minimum wage to the federal level ($7.25 as of July 1, 2009) and to raise the state minimum wage for tipped employees ($2.13/hour) for the first time in decades was introduced at the beginning of the session but still has not been assigned to a committee.
House Bill 30, Minimum Wage, got its number way back in December and was received for introduction Jan. 13, the first day of the session.
Nothing has happened since.
Proponents worry that lobbyists for the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association have been urging the House leadership to simply sit on the bill. The ESPC is working to counteract these efforts.
In the Wyoming legislature’s accelerated general session, any bill that is not reported out of committee in the chamber it originates by Feb. 6 dies for the session.
The $2.13/hour wage for tipped employees - the servers who wait tables in Wyoming restaurants- was set decades ago. If a server’s combined income from tips and that slave wage does not reach the federal minimum wage, employers are supposed to make up the difference. That’s called the tip offset.
Anecdotal surveys by the ESPC indicate that employers do not, shall we say, go out of their way to make certain their servers make the federal minimum. Worse, they don’t fear they will be reported to agencies with the responsibility for ensuring payment of minimum wages.
Servers include a high number of students who just need a job to get through college, along with single mothers, who struggle to make ends meet. It’s difficult for them to speak out because they fear employers will retaliate and fire them.
Please feel free to forward this information to servers you know and urge them to contact the ESPC with their stories (they can write to use through our website at equalitystate.org). They will need to provide their names, but need not identify their employers if they fear retaliation.
Let’s go viral!
It will be helpful if servers include information about how many jobs they have and if they receive public benefits of any kind (e.g., food stamps, child care subsidies, KidCare CHIP, Medicaid, housing subsidies) so we can make the point that businesses paying inadequate wages are offloading their responsibilities to the taxpayers.
The ESPC will compile and forward stories to House Speaker Colin Simpson and other legislative leaders. If they realize the extent of the problem, it will help get the bill assigned and on the road to a hearing. The public needs to hear about this sorry practice that exploits too many Wyoming workers.
More campaign finance
If cold and snow don’t shut down the Capitol tomorrow, the Senate Corporations Committee will consider SF 94, Campaign finance reporting – election periods.
Current law limits a single individual to $25,000 in total contributions to candidates for office in Wyoming. The $25,000 limit applies to a single, two-year election cycle, which starts following a general election, and includes the subsequent primary and general elections.
Language in SF 94 limits well-heeled contributors to $12,500 in contributions prior to the primary election and $12,500 between the post election reporting date for the primary and through the general elections.
Frustration with insurance companies and their efforts to avoid paying benefits has contributed to rising public sentiment to make companies provide the benefits they seemingly promise customers. Two bills that will give insurance customers a chance of standing up to these big companies when they are denied benefits have cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate File 62, the Discretionary Clause Prohibition Act, will help protect consumers by barring the inclusion of “discretionary clauses” in insurance contracts sold in Wyoming. Doing so will help ensure a fair hearing for people forced to challenge in court an insurer’s determination of benefits.
Supporters include the American Heart Association, the Cancer Action Network, the League of Women Voters and the ESPC.
- They say the bill will also:provide transparency regarding real benefits for consumers.
- Put consumers on an equal footing with insurers in benefit disputes.
- Increase the chances that consumers will receive benefits that otherwise would be denied.
Senate File 95, Medical Necessity Review Procedures, is a companion bill that sets up an external review procedure when a health insurance carrier denies benefits. If a patient’s doctor recommends a treatment that the insurer denied, a neutral medical expert would review the case.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Tony Ross of Cheyenne said he and Sen. Kathryn Sessions (also of Cheyenne) met with Blue Cross Blue Shield lobbyist Rick Schum over the weekend to discuss the bill. They put together a number of amendments that used notification and appeal rights included in federal law, refined the definition of who can serve as a neutral expert, and otherwise attempt to assure a fair review process.
The same groups support this bill. Members of the public who believe consumers deserve a more fair relationship with insurance companies should contact their state senators and urge them to back both bills.
Is $2.13 an hour a slave wage?
A bill to raise Wyoming’s minimum wage to the federal level ($7.25 as of July 1, 2009) and to raise the state minimum wage for tipped employees ($2.13/hour) for the first time in decades was introduced at the beginning of the session but still has not been assigned to a committee.
House Bill 30, Minimum Wage, got its number way back in December and was received for introduction Jan. 13, the first day of the session.
Nothing has happened since.
Proponents worry that lobbyists for the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association have been urging the House leadership to simply sit on the bill. The ESPC is working to counteract these efforts.
In the Wyoming legislature’s accelerated general session, any bill that is not reported out of committee in the chamber it originates by Feb. 6 dies for the session.
The $2.13/hour wage for tipped employees - the servers who wait tables in Wyoming restaurants- was set decades ago. If a server’s combined income from tips and that slave wage does not reach the federal minimum wage, employers are supposed to make up the difference. That’s called the tip offset.
Anecdotal surveys by the ESPC indicate that employers do not, shall we say, go out of their way to make certain their servers make the federal minimum. Worse, they don’t fear they will be reported to agencies with the responsibility for ensuring payment of minimum wages.
Servers include a high number of students who just need a job to get through college, along with single mothers, who struggle to make ends meet. It’s difficult for them to speak out because they fear employers will retaliate and fire them.
Please feel free to forward this information to servers you know and urge them to contact the ESPC with their stories (they can write to use through our website at equalitystate.org). They will need to provide their names, but need not identify their employers if they fear retaliation.
Let’s go viral!
It will be helpful if servers include information about how many jobs they have and if they receive public benefits of any kind (e.g., food stamps, child care subsidies, KidCare CHIP, Medicaid, housing subsidies) so we can make the point that businesses paying inadequate wages are offloading their responsibilities to the taxpayers.
The ESPC will compile and forward stories to House Speaker Colin Simpson and other legislative leaders. If they realize the extent of the problem, it will help get the bill assigned and on the road to a hearing. The public needs to hear about this sorry practice that exploits too many Wyoming workers.
More campaign finance
If cold and snow don’t shut down the Capitol tomorrow, the Senate Corporations Committee will consider SF 94, Campaign finance reporting – election periods.
Current law limits a single individual to $25,000 in total contributions to candidates for office in Wyoming. The $25,000 limit applies to a single, two-year election cycle, which starts following a general election, and includes the subsequent primary and general elections.
Language in SF 94 limits well-heeled contributors to $12,500 in contributions prior to the primary election and $12,500 between the post election reporting date for the primary and through the general elections.
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