Bill Summary for Bill Number HB06-1342

Date: 03/08/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB06-1342

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LABOR

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment I). The amendme Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment J). The motion Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment K). The motion Moved amendment L.004 (Attachment L) which would r Moved to refer House Bill 1342, as amended, to the	Pass Without Objection PASS PASS TIE PASS

11:43 AM -- House Bill 06-1342

Representative Cerbo explained House Bill 06-1342 which deals with the enforcement of wage laws by the Division of Labor. He walked through current sections of statute over which the Division of Labor has authority. He stated that his bill increases the director's authority to enforce wage laws. He distributed two handouts including a portion of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment strategic plan for Fiscal Year 2005-06 (Attachment G), and a hearing agenda for the Fiscal Year 2006-07 budget hearing of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) (Attachment H).

11:59 AM

Representative Cerbo responded to questions from the committee about the current responsibilities of the Division of Labor, specifically whether the mediation part of his bill is adding a new function to the division. There was discussion about the fiscal impact of the bill, and the CDLE's current workload measures over the years as indicated in Attachment H that Representative Cerbo handed out earlier.

12:11 PM

Discussion of the fiscal note continued. Representative Carroll expressed concern that a big fiscal note is being applied to what she thinks the division should already be doing. Representative Cerbo responded. Representative Marshall also referenced the fiscal note, questioning whether the level of abuse would increase and thus drive the additional FTE reflected in the fiscal note. Representative Cerbo stated that under current statute, the Director of the Division of Labor can already take it upon himself to investigate problems, in other words, it does not require a complaint to be filed.

12:18 PM

Mike McArdle, Director, Division of Labor, Department of Labor and Employment, stated that his division is neutral on the bill, adding that everything in the bill is currently allowed by law. He commented on the fiscal note, stating that the current personnel that handles 6,700 claims each year and staffs a phone bank (that receives 60,000 calls each year), are not sufficient to cover the requirements under House Bill 1342. He stated that his division concentrated on speeding up the claims investigations time frame in order to help people get their claims resolved faster. He added that the mandates in this bill, including doing mediation anytime an employer or employee asks for it, will be increasing the process. He stated that when developing the fiscal note, his division looked around at other organizations that provide mediation services, and that was how they determined the number to use.

Responding to committee questions, Mr. McArdle walked through how a complaint goes through the process. He discussed the difficulties encountered when trying to resolve complaints lodged by day laborers who have not received their wages. In the end, if the division is not able to resolve a complaint, they advise people to go to small claims court, but even when a person receives a judgement in their favor in small claims court, the court does not enforce the judgement, so the employer may not ever actually pay.

12:35 PM

Mr. McArdle continued responding to questions from the committee, including why the division does not aggressively pursue employers who violate wage laws, and why no penalties are assessed on employers. He added that his goal has been to get as many claims resolved and workers paid rather than spending so much time on pursuing the employers. He discussed all of the efforts the division has made to be efficient in handling complaints, adding that the division collected $1.5 million dollars for employees.

The committee asked whether the division has the authority to issue penalties against employers. Mr. McArdle said that he does have the ability, but there is due process involved and the court does become involved which leads to a lengthy process.

12:49 PM

Responding to additional questions, Mr. McArdle stated that the division has created a new database that is collecting much more useful information that will allow the division to look at why cases were or were not resolved (for example, did the employer go out of business, and is that why the wages were not paid).

12:50 PM

Adrian Miller, The Bell Policy Center, spoke in support of the bill. He stated that the bill could be a deterrent from employers failing to pay wages. Mr. Miller also talked about the need for a complaint law that would be available for public inspection.

12:52 PM

Raymond Hogler, representing himself as a lawyer who works with wage laws, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed the importance of mediation. He responded to questions from the committee.


BILL:	HB06-1342
TIME:	12:59:56 PM
MOVED:	Cerbo
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment I). The amendment was adopted without objection.
SECONDED:	Carroll M.
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Borodkin
	Butcher
	Carroll M.
	Coleman
	Knoedler
	Liston
	McCluskey
	Paccione
	Penry
	Welker
	Cerbo
	Marshall
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB06-1342
TIME:	01:01:41 PM
MOVED:	Cerbo
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment J). The motion passed on a 7-6 vote.
SECONDED:	Carroll M.
		VOTE
	Balmer	No
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	No
	Liston	No
	McCluskey	No
	Paccione	Yes
	Penry	No
	Welker	No
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB06-1342
TIME:	01:04:25 PM
MOVED:	Cerbo
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment K). The motion passed on an 8-5 roll call.
SECONDED:	Carroll M.
		VOTE
	Balmer	No
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	No
	Liston	No
	McCluskey	No
	Paccione	Yes
	Penry	Yes
	Welker	No
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Not Final YES: 8 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB06-1342
TIME:	01:09:41 PM
MOVED:	Cerbo
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.004 (Attachment L) which would require the division to comply with the bill within existing appropriations. There was considerable committee discussion. Representative Cerbo withdrew the amendment.
SECONDED:	Carroll M.
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Borodkin
	Butcher
	Carroll M.
	Coleman
	Knoedler
	Liston
	McCluskey
	Paccione
	Penry
	Welker
	Cerbo
	Marshall
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: WITHDRAWN


BILL:	HB06-1342
TIME:	01:14:07 PM
MOVED:	Cerbo
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 1342, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed 7-6.
SECONDED:	Butcher
		VOTE
	Balmer	No
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	No
	Liston	No
	McCluskey	No
	Paccione	Yes
	Penry	No
	Welker	No
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS