SENATE BILL: Long-term Unemployment Relief Act (Law'd)

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

There are many long-term unemployed in the current economy, and they can feel like they are stuck in a harsh trap.  The very fact that they have been out of work for so long can make them appear unattractive to employers and erode their confidence, and with fast changing technology their skills can become outdated.  Even as the economy may improve we are in danger of having a large number of people who are in effect permanently unemployed.



This is a step to help with that, to make the long-term unemployed appear more attractive to employers, at least so that the presence of a blank period on the work resume does not mean the applicant is automatically dismissed at the beginning of the process.   6 months is the standard definition of long-term unemployment, within the range of about 4-8 months that sees the greatest drop in who gets call-backs for interviews.  The final sentence of the bill is just to clarify that if for whatever reason an unemployed person did not seek or qualify or unemployment benefits from the government, their employer is still eligible for this benefit.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

This bill is going to make it easier for employers not to pay taxes while offering no relief to the employed. If anything, a better way to reduce unemployment is to zero out the payroll tax responsibilities of the lowest earners. This will put more money in their wallets which will be spent and force hiring in other sectors of the economy.

Of course, if we *really* want to be serious about lowering unemployment, we need to talk about moving to a 7 Hour Day, rather than just talking about giving tax relief to corporations.

Do you realize a 7-hour day will mean more people will take on second jobs? And if they don't, they'll have less money for having worked fewer hours.  Anyway, the long-term unemployed face unique challenges that persist even when the general unemployment rate drops.  This is a policy to address that problem.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

This bill is going to make it easier for employers not to pay taxes while offering no relief to the employed. If anything, a better way to reduce unemployment is to zero out the payroll tax responsibilities of the lowest earners. This will put more money in their wallets which will be spent and force hiring in other sectors of the economy.

Of course, if we *really* want to be serious about lowering unemployment, we need to talk about moving to a 7 Hour Day, rather than just talking about giving tax relief to corporations.

Do you realize a 7-hour day will mean more people will take on second jobs? And if they don't, they'll have less money for having worked fewer hours.  Anyway, the long-term unemployed face unique challenges that persist even when the general unemployment rate drops.  This is a policy to address that problem.

Do you realize that the minimum wage is already set to adjust to $18 an hour by 2018? A 7 hour day combined with that, or combined with an even higher minimum wage, would make up for any losses that might accompany such a change. Plus, more people, not fewer, are going to be employed with people working less hours because there's going to need to be more workers hired to make up for less workers being able to work without hitting overtime pay. So any purported changes are going to be offset by wider employment, which will lift overall wages and reduce hours in the long run.

$18/hour???
Goodness Atlasia's policy-makers have bought into uneconomical utopianism even more than I realized.  All the more reason we need policies to help the long-term unemployed, since otherwise we can expect even more of them in the future.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I would support an amendment to that effect.
I can't find the law that raised the minimum wage by that much. The last thing I see on it is the Living Wage Act last May that raised it to $12.50.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Wow, that bill is a headache for economic activity in so many ways. It amazes me sometimes the things even the Atlasian right goes for that most European Social Democratic parties would think twice about.  It even makes it illegal for kids to make and sell lemonade!

What's up with this part?:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Seems like it would make it hard to dismiss a new employee that didn't work out. What's the deal with saying they can be dismissed after two and a half years but not before?
And Section 2 gives an incentive to let go of people before the first 180 days are up because otherwise the company is stuck with them.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

So where would you like to start shua?

I'm trying to figure out what sections of the FLSA are detrimental to the long-term unemployed. Could someone explain how Section 4 works?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Well if it's not obvious what this means to either the President who signed it or the Senators who voted for it and are still here, I'll put it on my chopping block, since I think it could be detrimental.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

amendment:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

AYE

Raising the minimum wage as the FLSA does above the current $12.50 will raise labor costs dramatically.  We need more new jobs, not fewer, to help bring people back to work.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

AYE

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

amendment:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[/quote]

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Hostile.

I will not allow this abrogation of the rights of workers.

It's my bill, and the amendment is friendly.

You can however object and I'd be interested to know what you base your objects on.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Aye

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

4. Section 1 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 2013 is repealed.

5. Section 4 of The Productivity Equalization and Worker Employment Act of 2011 is amended to read:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

2. The minimum wage for tipped employees shall, upon the passage of this legislation, automatically adjust for increases in worker productivity and inflation at the same rate as does the regular federal minimum wage. The previous chart shall not be construed to deny a minimum wage adjustment based on inflation or increases in productivity to any employee.

3. The scaled increase to the minimum wage for tipped employees, as noted in Section 1 shall expire on January 1, 2020 and the tipped minimum wage shall, at that point, be equalized to the regular federal minimum wage. There shall, from January 1, 2020, be no difference in the federal minimum wage for tipped and other employees.

4. From the period between January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2020, tipped employees may 'opt-out' of the compensation adjustment for tipped employees. In doing so, tipped employees shall be paid the previous federal minimum wage for tipped employees until the next scheduled increase, at which point they will be once again asked whether or not to 'opt-out' of it.
   4a. Tipped employees having opted out of the compensation adjustment schedule shall be paid a gratuity of 20 percent automatically charged on all purchases by any employer employing tipped employees foregoing the compensation adjustment schedule.
   4b. Effective January 1, 2020, the opt-out provision of this law and the automatic gratuity charge shall be terminated and all employees currently paid in tips instead paid the federal minimum wage.
   4c. Employers may not be deny the right of employees to opt in or out of a tipped compensation program. Denying a worker such a right is punishable by law and may result in the loss of one’s business license and/or a fine of up to $25,000 per denied employee.
   4d. Employers and employees must indicate the form of compensation on tax documents from any jurisdiction. All jurisdictions must recognize both forms of compensation for currently tipped employees.

5. Restaurants shall not charge a service charge exceeding 15% on services rendered by employees who have opted in to the compensation adjustment program.
[/quote]

[/quote]

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

After the vote on that amendment, I'd like to offer this:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

feedback isn't hostile, Cinci.

AYE

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I don't like those current rates, to be honest; a $7.00 minimum wage in 2015 seems, well, low to me....

I'm going to unilaterally vote against this amendment, and along with my VP Cinci, we will offer our own rates and pray to Zeus that you all accept them.

I'm willing to work with you on this, but recognize that this is still an increase in the minimum wage for tipped employees by more than a dollar per year for the rest of the decade, not including inflation adjustments.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Why is it when I PM people and ask them to gether and work out an agreement, I learn latter that nobody fing listend.

I wasn't remembering the need to deal with the tipped employee issue when I messaged Duke and Cinci about the minimum wage. 
Then when I went to write the amendment I remembered you mentioned it and was trying to submit an amendment quickly so the bill wouldn't linger, and wasn't thinking about messaging Duke and Cinci.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Does it make the most sense to just raise everyone to the minimum wage immediately, with the understanding that tips are no longer a necessity and prices can be adjusted accordingly?    I mean that thought doesn't give me warm fuzzies inside but if the idea is that an employee shouldn't be relying on tips to get their minimum wage, then maybe let's just make it clear that a gratuity is just that, instead of having this confusing period where prices are rising to cover rising wages but no one knows how much of a tip they need to be giving without ripping someone off.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Does it make the most sense to just raise everyone to the minimum wage immediately, with the understanding that tips are no longer a necessity and prices can be adjusted accordingly?    I mean that thought doesn't give me warm fuzzies inside but if the idea is that an employee shouldn't be relying on tips to get their minimum wage, then maybe let's just make it clear that a gratuity is just that, instead of having this confusing period where prices are rising to cover rising wages but no one knows how much of a tip they need to be giving without ripping someone off.

On the other hand the rise in wages is substantially more than just would be expected from adding the gratuity, given this involves catching up with a few raises in the regular minimum wage, so maybe a sudden rise would be most disruptive to the job market . . . so I'm not sure I really support this.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

you mean this?

After the vote on that amendment, I'd like to offer this:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

yes, I want to go ahead and put this in, just renumbering it if need be.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

NAY

Duke signed off on the original numbers. I'm not sure why we should change them now, given they've yet to take affect.

Is that supposed to be some sort of an explanation for why you are voting nay on a completely different amendment?


It's ridiculous we have to even vote on this since no one has given any actual reason to oppose it but .. AYE

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

If the administration does not have their proposal ready, it may make more sense to deal with the minimum wage issue in a separate bill.  I'd like to go ahead and get this one passed.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I don't understand what you are doing Yankee.
Why are you inserting something in the final clause about increases in worker productivity?   

Tying the minimum wage to increases in productivity is just sick in my view, and the absolute worst part of our minimum wage law.  It means that those increases cannot be used to expand and hire new workers. It also means that those businesses without the capital investments that lead to greater productivity are put at further disadvantage - they haven't increased productivity, but still they have to pay the higher labor costs. 

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

If you prefer, I will make it 3-6 instead of 3-5, shua.

I would prefer that. 

I was thinking "the latter" was a reference to "national cost of living."  It's not very clear.