A bill floating through the Florida Legislature this spring could overturn ordinances passed in Broward and Miami-Dade counties in recent years, forcing workers to go to court to fight for wages owed.
SB 1216 has been filed by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Orange Park. It would turn wage theft issues over to Florida Small Claims Court, but allow a county or municipality to collect the money owed to an employee.
And organized labor and their allies in Florida have a serious problem with that.
"We have to let Tallahassee know that some issues are best left for local government," said Aaron Carmella with the West Central Federation of Labor. "They need to stop listening to the Florida Retail Federation and corporations like Macy's and Bealls," he added referring to organizations who strongly support the proposed legislation, which failed last year but has been reintroduced in 2013.
Carmella was joined by Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner and a group of activists in front of the County Center in Tampa. They gathered there to alert the local media about their opposition to Bradley's bill, which failed to get through the Legislature last year.
This article appears in Apr 4-10, 2013.