The Left has long used the minimum wage as an escalator to artificially inflate the pay of its union members. The ploy was that to avoid “wage compression,” distance needed to be kept between their members’ wages and low-paid workers. But such duplicity is small potatoes compared to what may be coming to a city or town near you. A proposition on November's ballot in Tucson, Arizona uses the minimum wage as a ruse for outrageous government intrusion into virtually every business in the community.
Under the guise of raising the minimum wage, the City of Tucson has constructed a Trojan Horse to gain access to payroll and personnel records of companies large and small and to punitively fine them for the slightest infraction of this newly proposed law.
It speaks of “an aggrieved party or interested party,” but in reality, any individual may report any suspected violation. To encourage this, THE IDENTITY OF THE SNITCH WOULD BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL to the maximum extent permissible. Beyond that, “the aggrieved party or parties WILL BE ENTITLED TO 30% OF ANY PENALTIES OR FINES imposed against the employer.” You read that right. And wherever you read “aggrieved party,” think “informant.” The East German Stasi would be proud.
The so-called Tucson Minimum Wage Act is not about the minimum wage. It’s designed to create legal problems even for average folks wanting help for things like yard work. Employers who don’t even have sub-minimum wage workers will have nightmarish record-keeping requirements. And if an employer does not maintain contemporaneous records or does not allow the city “reasonable access to such records,” the account of the informant “is presumed accurate.”
“Employee” is anyone working at least five hours in a week. You’ll now have to document someone helping around the house.
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The list of additional Orwellian provisions in this perverse legislation is beyond belief:
After sixty days, “an aggrieved party or interested party … may initiate steps to file a special action against the city in a court of competent jurisdiction seeking to compel the city to promptly investigate such complaint.” Conversely, the city may then “authorize the aggrieved party … to proceed with an action against the alleged violator on behalf of the city.”
Upon prevailing in their complaint, aggrieved parties would get double their back pay as well as attorney’s fees and costs. Plus, there’s a penalty paid to the city of $100 per employee per day as well as an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.
The newly created “Department of Labor Standards” would be compelled, within about a year of the law going into effect, to “undertake a survey of low-wage workers” which “shall identify those industries … where violations are most likely to occur.” Seven months past that, “the department shall devote a portion of its resources to the investigation of employers … belonging to [those] industries identified.”
Adding another totalitarian touch, businesses will be forced to fund that department though newly imposed fees, taxes and other levies reminiscent of the “bullet fees” in China, Iran and elsewhere imposed on the families of executed prisoners.
Malcontents (Karens in the current parlance) can go back three years to claim an action against an employer. The Sword of Damocles will perpetually hang over the heads of Tucson businesses.
“Large employer” means having 26 or more employees during the last quarter of the year (read “Christmas season,” including temps and part-timers). Many small businesses would fall under that definition, triggering additional Draconian provisions.
The Act mentions, “engaging in unfair immigration related practices,” emboldening illegal immigrants to participate.
It specifically defines non-profit organizations as interested parties so they’re encouraged to get in on the bloodbath.
After the statutory $15.00 per hour is reached, annual mandatory wage adjustments are imposed in perpetuity.
Multiple plaintiffs against the same employer for the same alleged infraction would all get paid. Double jeopardy does not apply.
There are numerous other onerous provisions, but you get the idea.
None of this would promote the so-called “livable wage” as the proposed new levels would be reached by natural inflation and business participation by the time the pay raise goes into effect.
Anyone reading no farther than the title into this six-page monster will be none the wiser. The damage is done in the document’s back end.
A group of concerned citizens has formed to fight this insanity. But time – and funds – are short. It’s an all mail-in election and ballots go out to all registered voters in the next two weeks. Legal challenges are sure to follow should the measure pass.
But if that happens, it’ll become a model for Leftist activism nationwide. Patriotic citizens, get informed – and involved.
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