With Labor Day here, it’s disappointing that all the good steps the Iowa Senate took for working families this year did not become law. The Republican-controlled House did not take up many key initiatives. That means the fight will continue during the 2016 legislative session to:
- Increase the wages of Iowa’s lowest-paid workers. According to the Iowa Policy Project, 181,000 Iowans would benefit from an increase to the minimum wage. Of them, 72 percent are over the age of 20, 59 percent are women, 20 percent have children, and on average, they earn 44 percent of their family’s total income. Twenty-nine states have raised their minimum wage above the federal $7.25, including five states surrounding Iowa. By following suit, Iowa families will have bigger paychecks that will boost the economy when they’re spent at local businesses.
- Stop wage theft. We need laws that make it clear you must pay your workers, and make it easier and safer for workers to stand up for their rights. Most Iowans aren’t at risk of being cheated by their employer, but low-wage workers often are, and they’re the ones with the most to lose. Examples of wage theft include an employer failing to pay a worker for the hours of work performed, not giving tips to servers or any practice that denies people their agreed-upon wage.
While we were able to add an additional wage theft investigator at Iowa Workforce Development this year, that won’t solve the problem. Iowa’s Division of Labor was responsible for 651 wage claims filed in 2014 that resulted in $242,252 paid to claimants. That barely makes a dent in the $600 million a year stolen from Iowa workers. - Protect employee pay from fees. Nobody should have to pay a fee to collect their wages. A payroll card (similar to a debit card) is an increasingly popular way to pay employees. Many Iowans don’t have a choice in how they are paid and may incur high fees when paid by payroll card. A simple, common sense way to protect the pay and rights of employees is to allow them to agree voluntarily to payment via a payroll card, and give them the option to withdraw all the wages due in a pay period without incurring a fee.
- Ensure Iowans can get to work. Many Iowans have no way to get to work. Maybe their job is a couple towns away from where they live, or perhaps they work third shift in an area with no late-night public transit. Through an Employment Rides Initiative, public transit systems could provide rides to and from work. It’s one way to help Iowans find and keep good jobs, grow businesses and boost the economy.