This week, a Minnesota Senate committee will examine a plan that proponents say would make it easier for small-business workers to have retirement savings plans.
The bill responds to concerns about a growing savings gap. The Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Act would provide automatic payroll deduction, with collected retirement funds managed by a state board. Workers would be able to register and no employer contribution would be required.
Cathy McLeer, state director of AARP Minnesota, which supports the proposal, said it would help those without a nest egg take control of their financial outlook as they age.
“We know there have been cutbacks and employer-sponsored pensions,” McLeer pointed out. “We know that a lack of savings really impacts a person’s ability to achieve that secure retirement.”
AARP said nearly a third of workers in Minnesota don’t have access to a pension plan through their jobs. And more than 42% of Minnesota retirees depend on Social Security for half of their income.
The proposal has already been launched. We don’t know how far it could go this session. Opposition in other states has focused on the impact on private sector plan providers.
Proponents of the bill say it can also make small businesses more competitive, by eliminating the costs of setting up a pension plan for staff.
Erik Forsberg, president and CEO of Overlord Hospitality, which operates a handful of restaurants in the Twin Cities, said this could result in not having to spend as much time and energy on recruitment and retention. workers.
“Hiring and training and all that expensive stuff, in any industry,” observed Forsberg. “When you come into our industry and there’s so much turnover, it can really add up.”
Forsberg added that many people can pursue careers in the hospitality industry, but many outside factors must be weighed. He thinks putting retirement savings on their radar would be a huge plus.
“They need to focus on things like transportation and childcare, but when it comes to planning your future, that’s usually not part of their conversation,” Forsberg explained.
Disclosure: AARP Minnesota contributes to our fund for reporting on policy and budget priorities, consumer issues, health issues, and seniors’ issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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Iowa lawmakers have introduced a bill to tighten the rules for people who receive unemployment benefits.
The legislature already passed limits last year on how long an unemployed person can get help, and under the new measure people would be required to do more to get it. Senate Docket 1159 would force unemployed Iowa workers to conduct “more aggressive” job searches, with up to half a dozen applications each week, depending on the number of jobs available.
Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, thinks the measure would be bad for employees and the companies they will work for.
“And telling people they have to take jobs or risk losing their unemployment benefits; you’re pressuring people to take jobs they have no intention of staying in for a long time,” supported Boulton.
The bill would also eliminate waivers to current Iowa law allowing people in seasonal jobs to use unemployment during periods of layoff before being rehired. These jobs have typically been in construction and agriculture. Critics of the bill say it will make it even harder to fill seasonal jobs and make Iowa less friendly to potential employers.
This is the second measure to toughen the rules for people claiming unemployment benefits. Iowa lawmakers have already reduced the length of time a person can remain unemployed from 26 weeks to 16 weeks and tightened the requirement to accept what the state called “suitable work.” Boulton argued that such changes force people to take jobs for which they may be underqualified or overqualified.
“It’s just another step in the misguided effort to get more people out of unemployment and into work, but without connecting the dots to work that makes sense to both employer and employee,” Boulton said.
The measure moves next to the full Senate.
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Minnesota has what has been described as one of the toughest wage theft laws in the country. But union leaders say there is still not much recourse for construction workers.
Hearings will be held this week on a bill that he hopes will fix the problem.
Legislative committees are considering a plan that would allow key agencies to hold construction site owners and managers accountable, not just a contractor suspected of wage theft.
Although Minnesota’s current law is strict, Adam Duininck — director of government affairs for the North Central States Carpenters Regional Council — said workers in his field still struggle to ask for help when they needed it.
“There are shell companies or SARLs, as well as second, third and fourth level contractors,” Duininck said, “but it’s really hard for a worker to define who their real employer is. one gets caught committing wage theft, so where do you go to seek redress?”
He said giving that responsibility to general contractors is like forcing them to meet safety standards to protect all workers.
The regional chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors opposes the changes, saying they would target the wrong people. The group says the original law, approved in 2019, provides many opportunities for workers to take action.
ABC Minnesota and North Dakota President Adam Hanson argued that wage theft by a subcontractor should not be tied to a job site’s broader operations.
He said he thought passing these changes would be unfair to those who have no knowledge of what happened.
“The general contractor,” Hanson said, “is not part of the HR or accounting divisions of the dozens and dozens of subcontractors they work with, on every project or multiple projects.”
But Duininck said it’s also about establishing a stronger culture of compliance.
“We think they’re going to control their submarines [subcontractors] even better now,” Duininck said, “and they are going to take a deeper look at who they have on their yards and make sure the rules are being followed in a meaningful way.
Disclosure: The North Central States Carpenters Regional Council contributes to our Living Wages/Working Families, Social Justice Reporting Fund. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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Two Illinois state legislators are introducing legislation to phase out so-called “subminimum pay” for tipped workers in the restaurant industry.
The measures were introduced on behalf of One Fair Wage, an advocacy organization for service workers, and several other groups demanding changes to the way employees in the hospitality industry are paid.
Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Oak Park, said while there are restaurants that “match” employee tips to ensure they earn minimum hourly wages, many workers still earn below-the-money earnings. poverty line.
“Our proposed legislation scales and phase out the minimum wage from our system here in Illinois,” Lilly explained. “Our workers here in Illinois deserve a quality of life, and the sub-minimum wage doesn’t allow that.”
Lilly noted that the bill would phase out tips over the next three years and set the hourly wage at $15 by 2025. Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia opposes the bill , saying safeguards are in place to protect service workers. He argued that the additional costs would likely be passed on to customers, hurting businesses and their employees.
Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, D-Chicago, claimed the restaurant industry has a long history of racism and gender inequality, and of the 215,000 tip workers in Illinois, 69% are of women and 39% are black or Latino.
She noted that many service workers lost their jobs during the pandemic.
“We know 27,000 left during the pandemic,” Pacione-Zayas reported. “We know tips were down, harassment up. Of those who stayed, more than half said they would consider leaving because of the pay and the exploitation of their work. “
She added that the bill would create a ‘Blue Star program’ for restaurants certifying that they don’t take tip credit, have participated in fairness training and have not violated wage law. and Illinois times for the previous three years.
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