Commissioner Murman mentioned, and quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on wage theft:
POLITICS
Hillsborough commissioners approve program to fight wage theft
By Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff
Published: October 21, 2015 | Updated: October 21, 2015 at 10:35 PM
TAMPA — Workers who are cheated of wages now have an ally in Hillsborough County government.
County commissioners, by a 5-0 vote, approved an ordinance Wednesday that makes county government the entry point for workers who feel they were illegally denied wages. Commissioners Ken Hagan and Al Higginbotham were absent.
Commonly known as wage theft, such practices can include working employees off the clock, denying them their last paycheck or failing to pay tips or overtime. Hillsborough County ranks second in the state in documented cases of wage theft, according to a recent study by Florida International University. Miami-Dade County is first.
The ordinance’s sponsor, Democrat Kevin Beckner, said the plan was a “hybrid” that borrowed from established wage theft programs in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Beckner had originally pushed for an ordinance modeled on Miami-Dade’s version, which handles wage theft cases through its consumer protection department. Pinellas County recently adopted a wage theft ordinance based on that model.
But Republicans, who hold a 5-2 majority on the commission, resisted the Miami-Dade model, saying they didn’t want to grow county government by adding new employees. Beckner’s plan called for hiring one employee in the second year of the program at a salary of $45,000.
The new ordinance makes workers and employers go through mediation in the courts administration office of the 13th Judicial Circuit. The county already funds that office, so using mediators from there wouldn’t cost any additional money, Beckner said.
Based on other counties’ experience with wage theft legislation, about 70 percent of wage disputes are settled in mediation, Beckner said. Those that aren’t will be go before a hearing officer.
“The current hearing officers we use are all volunteer attorneys,” Beckner said in an interview before the meeting. “They do this sometimes to build a resume for a judgeship or some other position. We want people who specialize in employment law.”
Borrowing from the Palm Beach County ordinance, the Hillsborough system will use lawyers from Bay Area Legal Services to represent workers before the hearing officers and, if necessary, in circuit court. Bay Area Legal Services provides free civil legal services to qualified residents and non-profits.
The county will budget $100,000 a year for legal services aiding wage theft victims before hearing officers or in a courtroom.
Though she voted with the majority, commission Chairwoman Sandy Murman again expressed concerns about the ordinance, saying it would be simpler just to send all workers with wage disputes to circuit court and pay Bay Area Legal Services to represent them. That is similar to the way Palm Beach County handles the problem.
It was Murman who, at a May 20 commission meeting, first broached the idea of following the Palm Beach model. Her comments came two months after Beckner had rolled out his ideas for a wage theft ordinance modeled after Miami-Dade’s program.
Public records obtained by the Tribune showed Murman had been communicating with the Florida Retail Federation prior to the May 20 meeting. The retailers’ group generally opposes wage theft laws and sued in state court to kill the Miami-Dade ordinance, arguing that it violated the state constitution.
In an e-mail obtained in the public records request, the retail federation’s general counsel thanked Murman for her “willingness to listen,” and said the group favored a plan modeled on the Palm Beach County ordinance.
On Wednesday, Murman said something needs to be done because current state and federal laws meant to protect wage earners are weak. But Murman said she preferred the Legislature pass a stronger statewide law because leaving counties to craft their own ordinances creates confusion.
“I feel like we’re complicating the situation, not really making it better,” Murman said.
In the spirit of compromise, Beckner also incorporated a suggestion from Republican Commissioner Victor Crist to have the wage law cover self-employed subcontractors who are not paid what they are owed by a larger company or general contractor.
