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

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Sponsor: shua

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The sponsor has 24 hours to begin advocacy.


My PPT slot plan for next two weeks has now been wrecked thanks to the in order slots catching up to the bills on my radar.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So where are we on this?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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.

Would you be interested in removing some of those later stages of the unemployment increase as a part of this bill? It is presently at $14 as I recall.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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.

The minimum wage is one that people seem to never be content to leave as it is for any long period of time. Aside from what TNF siad, there is also another schedule of minimum wage increases for tipped employees as well that needs to be considered for it gets up into those double digits as well in the out years.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So where would you like to start shua?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The best one would be Senator TNF, but he seems less than interested in responding. Perhaps you might want to PM him directly.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Have you tried my suggestion Senator?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I am hessitant to speak as to what the purpose is since TNF would be more likely to know exactly then I, but my assumption at the time was that it was to ensure such contracts are adhered to by employers.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

AYE

We went to far in the FLSA, and if we don't show some reasoned restraint, we will cause a lot of harm in the name of a feel good measure to the very workers it seeks to aid.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I should have checked this earlier, but this amendment vote is illegal and must be stopped at once.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

AYE

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

This vote ends tomorrow afternoon.


I have never known people to hit the panic button when they are on the good side of a 5-4 split iwth the last Senator on a leave that ends two days after the vote ends.

THat said we have to do something to alleviate the contract issue, lest we have multiple bankrupt firms putting lots of people out of work and likewise with the minimum wage schedule which is far too aggressive.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

They will be too busy looking for non-existent jobs in our new Spain-like economy, Alfred.

You people never seem to grasp that things like the minimum wage, like a well intentioned but poorly designed contract law, can become a negative for the very people you seek to help when taken too far or poorly written. 

Case in point, that clause b thing in Fritzcare that Nixy baby's been moanin about for the last month.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Damn Time STamps!!!

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Man this one really pushing up against my night time activities at ten. Cincy might have to handle starting this.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

My night time activities don't involve alcohol.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

AYE

If this fails again, I am going to try my hand at one with just revised language.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Vote on Amendment 60:57 by shua:

Aye (6): bore, Lumine, Goldwater, NC Yankee, shua, and TyriontheImperialist
Nay (1): TNF
ABstain (0):

Didn't Vote (3): Alfred F. Jones, DC al Fine, and Talleyrand

With six votes in the affirmative and one in the negative, the amendment has been adopted.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So, we ready to resume here?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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]

Sponsor Feedback: Origination
Status: Senators have 24 hours to object.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Still too earlier for a vote as it has only been on te floor about sixteen hours.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I wouldp refer to get to 12.50 a few years quicker o nthe tipped employees, but overall this is a good improvement of the bill.

AYE

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

5-5-0-0 with two days remaining.


You still up for that card came we mentioned a few months ago?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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