RI Department of Labor and Training

June 23, 2016June 24, 2016

Significant protections against wage theft passed

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After years of struggle the Rhode Island General Assembly under the leadership of Senator Donna Nesslebush, and Representative Joe Shekarchi have passed a bill that finally makes the scourge of wage theft a crime. Stealing workers’ wages has always been civil offense with serious hurdles from the bureaucracies that were supposed to help. With close consultation with the DLT and Director Scott Jensen and legislative stakeholder meetings, House Bill 7628 and Senate Bill 2475 passed in the small morning hours on Saturday June 18.

These bills will provide for serious penalties including fines and imprisonment for taking from working Rhode Islanders. Perhaps the most significant penalty is the loss of a business license, the bills also empower the director of the Department of Labor and Training to determine compliance. Encouraging responsible reporting and discouraging false claims, the process of private suit has meaningful safeguards in place.

“Too often we see workers awarded a judgment by DLT only to have the employer refuse to pay what is owed,” said Robert McCreanor executive director of the worker advocacy law firm The Rhode Island Center for Justice. With the power to revoke business licenses from offending employers who refuse to comply with its rulings, DLT will be able to compel prompt payment and get more money, more efficiently, into the hands of the worker who earned it. While more work needs to be done to address the growing problem of wage theft, this bill provides an important tool for Rhode Island workers.”

Said Lidia Jimenez a member of Fuerza Laboral, “As a worker that has had their wages stolen, I feel proud that my testimony and that of Flor Salazar helped elected officials understand the atrocities that are committed daily by bad employers who feel that justice will not reach them and take our daily bread. This will help put an end to some of the abuse.” It is estimated by Economic Progress Institute that over $50,000,000,000 per year are stolen from workers’ wages. The process of enforcement historically has been spotty and difficult to apply.

Jeremy Rix who is running for 2nd ward of the Warwick City Council said, “I’m thrilled that the wage theft reforms introduced by Rep. Shekarchi become law. This law will deter many unethical employers from stealing wages, and provide a meaningful path for vulnerable employees to recover their stolen earnings.”

The organizations that have participated in the effort to pass these two vital bills are: Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, The RIAFL-CIO, Fuerza Laboral, and the Rhode Island Center for Justice. Each of these organizations is committed to improving the conditions of Rhode Island’s working people.

December 10, 2015December 16, 2015

TCI: The most popular social program you’ve never heard of

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2015-12-10 TCI 01 — Barb Silver, Emilija Djurdjevic and Helen Mederer

Rhode Island is the third state to offer a Temporary Caregiver Insurance Program (TCI) and according to research, the program is very popular. Yet about half of those surveyed during a review of the first year of the program’s implementation were unaware of this benefit.

According to the DLT website:

The Temporary Caregiver Insurance Program was signed into law and will become effective as of January 5, 2014. Individuals may apply for benefits as of January 5, 2014.

• An individual may receive up to a max. of 4 weeks of TCI benefits (which will reduce the max. weeks of TDI) during a Benefit Year Period
• To care for a for a seriously ill child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, parent-in-law, or grandparent………or
• To Bond with a newborn child, adopted child or foster-care child (available during the first 12 months of parenting only)
• Monetary eligibility is determined the same as for TDI benefits
• Caregiver claims: the claimant is responsible to obtain the medical documentation necessary
• Bonding claims: the claimant is responsible to provide proof of child/parenting relationship.

TCI will payout roughly 2/3rds of your wages during your time off.

2015-12-10 TCI 02 — Ray Pepin and Fernanda Casimiro, DLT

The RI Department of Labor and Training, (DLT) contracted the Schmidt Labor Research Center at the University of Rhode Island to analyze data and make recommendations as to the public’s awareness of the program, ability to access the program, impacts of the program on families and work, and to identify barriers that prevent families from accessing the program. At an event hosted by the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, researchers Barb Silver, Helen Mederer and Emilija Djurdjevic presented their findings.

About half of those surveyed were aware of TCI. Those more aware “were more likely to have higher incomes and education.” There was less awareness among lower income, older, less educated and non-white populations. Also, employees working for smaller employers and for employers who offer less benefits were less likely to be aware of TCI.

Even those aware of the program were not fully informed as to all its benefits. Just over half understood that TCI provides job security: If you access TCI, your job will be waiting for you when you return to work. Half also are unaware that the program offers 60 percent wage replacement. Only a quarter realized that the program is funded by employee contributions.

Because of this the URI researchers suggest targeted marketing to those populations who are not taking advantage of the program and a focus on job security and employee contributions in that marketing.

The majority of users used TCI to bond with a new child. Only 22 percent took TCI to care for an ill family member.

Compared to other forms of time off to deal with family adjustment or caring for an ill family member, those who used TCI reported easier transitions back to work, lower absenteeism, better overall physical health, lower stress, more baby wellness visits, greater likelihood of following medical advice and greater likelihood of breastfeeding. The “ability to initiate nursing is a key public health issue,” said one of the presenters.

Those accessing TCI were better able to maintain their financial security as well.

The greatest barriers to accessing TCI are lack of awareness, inability to afford the loss of income, lack of employer benefits and worry about negative work outcomes.

Ultimately the research found that TCI is “needed, appreciated, and has current and long-lasting positive effects on employees.”

“We know people love it,” said Jenn Steinfeld, executive director of the Women’s Fund RI, “We need word of mouth to get the word out to more people.”

The Economic Progress Institute has a guide to accessing TCI here.

April 25, 2015April 27, 2015

Labor Secretary Tom Perez assesses RI’s paid leave act

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Representative David Cicilline hosted U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez in Pawtucket Friday afternoon as part of “a roundtable discussion on paid leave.” Also on hand were Senator Jack Reed, Congressman Jim Langevin, State Senator Gayle Goldin, RI Department of Labor and Training Director Scott Jensen, Rhode Island AFL-CIO President George Nee and District 1199 SEIU Executive Vice President Patrick Quinn.

Before the discussion, held at Gold International Machinery and LNA Laser Technology, Company President Dan Gold gave a guided tour of his businesses and answered questions about the state of the local economy and his opinion about the future of his businesses. Gold was generally optimistic.

Secretary Perez was visiting Rhode Island as part of a “Lead on Leave” tour, in which “Perez and other Obama administration officials are currently traveling the country to meet with employers, workers, government officials, and other stakeholders to highlight the importance of paid leave.”

Noting the “regrettable gridlock” preventing smart policy from being implemented in Washington, Secretary Perez said that President Barrack Obama now defines success by, “how much work we can do with our state and local partners.” In this spirit, Rhode Island, along with California, Massachusetts and Washington State, is pioneering paid leave law. It is hoped that our experience will pave the way for a national system.

labor secretary verdict 003 — Representative David Cicilline

The United States, said Cicilline, is “one of only three countries today that does not offer paid maternity leave.” The other two are Oman, a totalitarian state, and Papua New Guinea, which has the highest levels of violence against women in the world.

Opponents say that a paid leave program will hold back business and slow economic growth, but Cicilline maintained that “nothing could be further from the truth.”

“Paid leave is good for business and employees,” said Cicilline, “Supporting programs like paid leave promotes [employee] retention, recruitment of employees and improves productivity.”

In California, 87 percent of businesses had no increased costs due to the implementation of paid leave and 9 percent of businesses, “reported that the paid leave program generated savings.” Women who receive paid leave are 39 percent less likely to receive public assistance and 40 percent less likely to be on food stamps, so paid leave can save taxpayer dollars as well.

According to figures presented by Director Jensen, about 4800 people have used the Rhode Island paid leave system in its first year after passage. 3600 used the system to care for children and 1200 to take care of family. $8.35 million was paid out, notes Jenson, so it’s a “popular program.”

State Senator Gayle Goldin was instrumental in getting Rhode Island’s version of paid leave through the General Assembly. Goldin noted that the room in Gold International Machinery where the roundtable was being held in was the same room where the Rhode Island coalition advocating for paid leave held their first press conference. She joked that the signing into law of a national paid leave act should take place in the same room.

Goldin also spoke of the many people who have told her their stories of being able to utilize paid leave under Rhode Island’s law, people who would have faced impossible financial, emotional or health related hardships had this law not been passed. Here are three such stories, from the press conference:

Company President Dan Gold spoke from the point of view of a successful business owner. “To me, there’s business, but there’s also community, and quality of life. I believe that the business community is critical for creating a quality of life for all workers.”

So often we in Rhode Island talk about how we are behind the curve in terms of business and social justice. On this issue, Rhode Island is a leader, paving the way for the rest of the country to follow.