Stealing tips. Paying below minimum wage. Asking employees to work off the clock. These are all examples of wage theft, and according to the Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force, it’s a problem happening within the Gainesville area.
During the Alachua County Commission meeting Tuesday night, the task force presented an ordinance that would allow the county to address the issue locally. The commission agreed to look more into the ordinance.
Diana Moreno, spokeswoman for the task force, said Alachua County wage theft cases are currently handled through the U.S. Department of Labor because Florida doesn’t have a labor department. But resources are limited.
Moreno said the state only has six federal wage theft investigators.
The proposed county ordinance is modeled after the Miami-Dade County wage theft ordinance passed in 2010. Miami-Dade and Broward County are the only counties within the state that currently hold a wage theft division.
Alex Cardelle, a 23-year-old UF political science and economics senior, is a member of the task force. Last summer, he interned for a wage theft program implemented by the Miami-Dade County Department of Small Business Development.
“This is a university community,” Cardelle said. “For many students that work here, it’s their first employment and first part-time job. By having a wage theft division, parents and students could take comfort in knowing that they’re protected.”
Moreno said the main conditions to file a claim are as follows: It must be an amount above $60 dollars, the work must be done in Alachua County within the last year, the employee cannot also be seeking any additional legal action against the employer, and the employee must at least 18 years old.
Cardelle said there would be a gratitude law similar to the one in the Miami-Dade ordinance. If the issue is resolved during the initial phone call, the division will offer resources to help the business owner fix the problem.
“It’s a great way to make the program more mutual and provide balances,” he said.
Susan Baird was the only commissioner against the motion.
“We’ve all had some of these learning experiences. That’s what makes you tougher; that’s what makes you learn,” she said.
Gainesville city commissioners discuss parts of a proposed wage theft ordinance which would help protect workers’ rights locally, rather than the current system through the U.S. Department of Labor.
