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RESOLUTION NO. ________ _
A Resolution urging the Florida Legislature to enact, during the 2014 session,
a statewide wage theft law modeled after the Miami-Dade County, Broward
County, and Alachua County Wage Theft Ordinances.
10 WHEREAS, wage theft is when workers are paid below the minimum wage, not paid for
11 overtime, forced to work off the clock, have their time cards altered, are misclassified as
12 independent contractors, or are simply not paid a wage for work performed; and
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14 WHEREAS, a 2012 report by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy as
15 part of a series of reports monitoring the growing problem of wage theft in Florida analyzed data
16 from the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division and estimated that nearly 60-90
17 million dollars are stolen from Florida's workforce, impacting communities, law abiding
18 employers, and state and local economies; and
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20 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade was the first county in the state to adopt a countywide wage
21 theft law on February 28,2010; and
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23 WHEREAS, in October 23, 2012, the Board of County Commissioners of Broward
24 County became the second county in Florida to enact a wage theft ordinance; and
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26 WHEREAS, in April, 2013, the Alachua County Commission became the third county in
27 Florida to enact a wage theft ordinance; and
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29 WHEREAS, wage theft is a problem not limited to Miami-Dade, Broward and Alachua
30 Counties and occurs across the State of Florida; and
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32 WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission for the City of South Miami desire to
33 encourage the Florida Legislature to pass a statewide wage theft law based on the model of the
34 Miami-Dade, Broward, and Alachua County wage theft ordinances.
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36 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
37 COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
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. 39 Section 1. The City Commission for the City of South Miami urges the Florida
40 Legislature to enact, during the 2014 session, a statewide wage theft law modeled after the
41 Miami-Dade, Broward, and Alachua County wage theft ordinances.
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43 Section 2. The City Clerk is hereby directed to transmit electronic copies of the
44 resolution to the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker and the Chair and Members of the
45 Miami-Dade County State Legislative Delegation, the Mayor and Members of the Miami-Dade
46 County Board of County Commissioners, the Mayor and Members of the Broward County Board
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1 of County Commissioners, and the Mayor and Members of the Alachua County Board of County
2 Commissioners.
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4 Section 3. The City Commission for the City of South Miami hereby directs its
5 lobbyist to advocate for the issue identified in Section 1 above, and to advocate for the inclusion
6 of the matter in, or for its addition as an amendment to, the 2014 state legislative session agenda
7 package.
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9 Section 4. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for
10 any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall
11 not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
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13 Section 5. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon
14 adoption by vote of the City Commission.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ day of _____ , 2014.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND
EXECUTION THEREOF
CITY ATTORNEY
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APPROVED:
MAYOR
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice Mayor Harris:
Commissioner Edmond:
Commissioner Liebman:
Commissioner Welsh:
Members of the Florida State Legislature:
Wage Theft, or the nonpayment of wages earned by workers, is an epidemic in Florida. As
you know, it takes on many forms including being paid less than the minimum wage, working
"off the clock" without pay, getting paid less than time and a half for overtime hours, or having
illegal deductions taken out of paychecks.
A 2012 study by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP) at Florida
International University, estimated that nearly 60-90 million dollars are stolen from Florida's
workforce, impacting communities, law abiding employers, and state and local economies.
I am calling on you to protect victims of Wage Theft and VOTE "NO" on HB 957 and SB 926,
which are backed by corporate special interests like the Florida Retail Federation. These bills
will prevent 64 counties from establishing programs to protect their own residents from Wage
Theft. The bills also freeze the Wage Theft ordinances that are already in place in Miami-Dade,
Broward and Alachua Counties, which would prevent local governments from amending their
own ordinances. The Florida Retail Federation wants to force Wage Theft victims into an
overloaded and slow court system instead of allowing counties to set up their own efficient and
inexpensive local Wage Theft programs, which prioritize conciliation rather than court.
I would also urge you to pass a statewide wage theft law modeled after the successful Miami-
Dade, Broward and Alachua County Wage Theft Ordinances during the 2014 legislative session.
Wage Theft programs work! As of December 2013, Miami-Dade County's Wage Theft program
has awarded a total of $1 ,875,189 dollars to Wage Theft victims.
The negative effects of shortchanging workers' wages ripple across communities and the
economy. Families suffer when earnings are too low to meet basic needs. Local businesses and
economics are denied vital stimulus that would flow from additional spending had workers been
paid all that they had earned. Honest businesses are undermined by unscrupulous competitors
who practice Wage Theft. And governments at all levels take a hit, because they are denied tax
revenues generated by higher earnings and because many working families must resort to public
programs to meet basic needs when wages fall short.
Protect victims of Wage Theft and take action today!
Sincerely,
Local Elected Officials