April 20, 2010. The Palm Beach Post.
WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County commissioners asked administrators Tuesday to research a law change that would allow the county to take action against employers who cheat their workers out of pay.
The move came a day after four commissioners — Shelly Vana, Jeff Koons, Priscilla Taylor, and Jess Santamaria — pledged to more than 1,500 churchgoers to do something about the growing problem.
“It has been a neglected area on both the state and local level,” said Vana, who made the request.
The church-based group People Engaged in Active Community Efforts, or P.E.A.C.E., has made wage theft one of its top legislative priorities this year. On Monday, the group called on commissioners to pass a law change similar to one recently enacted in Miami-Dade County that would allow the local Office of Equal Opportunity to investigate employers who don’t pay their workers.
P.E.A.C.E. leaders say they have received complaints from workers across the county who have been cheated out of wages by employers who refused to pay them after completing a job, or who denied them overtime compensation.
But Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson questioned the need for the law change. There are already federal and state laws designed to protect workers.
“They have much more teeth then we could ever put into anything,” Aaronson said.
County Administrator Bob Weisman said the law could also be costly to enforce. He suggested commissioners consider the measure as part of their budget workshops this summer.
“We should not take on new programs at a time like this, particularly when they’re the responsibility of (other) government entities,” Weisman said.
Commissioners also directed administrators to research the cost of the program and the scope of the problem here.
