The 2012 legislative session has been dominated by special interests. Republican supermajorities in both houses along with a Republican Governor are moving forward with bills designed to protect special interests such as insurance companies and big business. The people who will pay for this are working men and women and Florida Taxpayers.
Three bills currently before the Florida Legislature are: HB 609 - designed to pre-empt Dade County’s Wage Theft Law, CS HB 245 - allowing unlicensed and unregulated insurance companies to take homeowners out of Citizens Insurance, and SB 1316 - designed to eliminate access to the court system in medical malpractice cases.
Three bills currently before the Florida Legislature are: HB 609 - designed to pre-empt Dade County’s Wage Theft Law, CS HB 245 - allowing unlicensed and unregulated insurance companies to take homeowners out of Citizens Insurance, and SB 1316 - designed to eliminate access to the court system in medical malpractice cases.
HB 609 specifically pre-empts Dade County’s Wage Theft Law. The Wage Theft Ordinance, which is governed by Chapter 22 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, became effective on February 28, 2010, applies to private sector employees and employers. The Wage Theft Ordinance’s stated policy is to eliminate and prevent wage theft and eliminate the underpayment or nonpayment of wages earned by persons working in Dade County. Its purpose is to provide a streamlined procedure for recovery when employers fail to pay all or part of a worker’s wages, fail to pay legally required overtime, fail to compensate employees for work they are required to do before their shifts officially begins or after their shifts end, or fail to pay the lawful minimum wage.
Over the years, GOP law makers have argued that courts are inefficient venues to address civil wrongs. They have also argued that local governments are best able to address the needs of their local constituents. However, when Dade County enacted an ordinance to protect their working citizens, GOP lawmakers decided to side with Macy’s, Beall’s, and the Florida Retail Federation. Ironically, these lawmakers argued that the Court system is the most efficient place to resolve wage disputes despite the fact that the filing fees often exceed the amount of wages due. They also argued that the central government in Tallahassee is a much better venue to address wage theft in Dade County than the local government in Dade County.
The most revealing fact of the debate concerning this bill in Tallahassee - GOP lawmakers agreed that wage theft is a significant problem in Florida, yet they only sought a bill to overturn Dade County’s law. GOP representatives had no interest in enacting a statewide wage theft law. In fact, when Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, made a motion to table the issue so that lawmakers could amend the bill and add language creating a statewide law, GOP representatives voted along party lines to scuttle the proposed amendment. Many GOP lawmakers who claimed they supported a statewide law, voted against Randolph’s motion to begin drafting such a law.
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