Corporations are not people and should not be treated as such. We give them far too many rights and it is at the expense of actual people. This isn't right and needs to be addressed.
Minimum Wage
My approach to minimum wage is slightly different than most progressive thinkers that I know. Fight for $15 is making headlines in their efforts to raise the wage to $15 an hour. I think they are doing excellent work and they have a clear cut and admirable mission. However, I think their mission would only provide a short-term solution as eventually $15, as years go by, won't be enough.
Here's my approach:
Minimum wage should be indexed to the cost of living in each locality.
A locality could be a city or county. It is important that the wage is determined by the actual cost of living in an area and is indexed to rise accordingly. Without the indexing, the cycle is doomed to repeat indefinitely. I propose the cost of living should be indexed on the following criterion as a way to secure real-life expenses.
- Average Cost of a Mortgage Payment
- Average Cost of Homeowner's Insurance
- Average Cost of Groceries for a Family of Four.
- Average Cost of Health Care Insurance
- Average Cost of Automobile Insurance
- Average Cost of Fuel for a Typical Driver
- Average Cost of Water and Sewage
- Average Cost of Electricity
Am I missing anything? Let me know.
The average costs of these expenses are different city-to-city. Therefore, the wage minimums should be adjusted accordingly. In addition, I also propose a 20% up "charge" on whatever the total is. This will be a disposable income allotment. Simply put, disposable income is important to improve economies and to ensure people have the opportunity to partake in the luxuries of life. According to researchers, putting money in the hands of the lower and middle class will ensure improvement in the local economies.
So, what would it look like? Since I don't know the average costs of these things in any city, I am going to just use figures that are applicable in my life, just to create a look and see. Below are my averages, annual. [Note: I don't actually own a home, so the homeowner's insurance is just based on the state average.]
- Average Cost of a Mortgage Payment ($6,000)
- Average Cost of Homeowner's Insurance ($1,991)
- Average Cost of Groceries for a Family of Four ($7,200)
- Average Cost of Health Care Insurance ($2,136)
- Average Cost of Automobile Insurance ($2,160)
- Average Cost of Fuel for a Typical Driver ($1,040)
- Average Cost of Water and Sewage ($888)
- Average Cost of Electricity ($1,511.76)
Total: $22,926.76
Now, we have to "mark up" by 20% to give us that cushion I mentioned earlier. So 20% of $22,926.76 is $4,585.35. This brings the grand total is $27,512.11 annually.
Dividing this total into weeks, it would come to $529.08 a week. At a wage of 40 hours, that would come to $13.23 per hour.
Now obviously my averages are not going to be accurate to Hillsborough County, FL's averages but you get the idea.
To anyone who is outside of Florida, you may not know, but our minimum wage is currently $8.05 an hour.
Properly Define Full-Time and Part-Time Statuses and Set Appropriate Standards
My next solution is to have a more defined and fair definition of employment status. Currently, we assume. The IRS states that 30 hours a week is full-time. However, it can get complicated when discussing other benefits, like fringe benefits. It's time to close this gap and create a fair definition.
Currently, minimum wage does not resolve the problem for people in part-time jobs. Even if minimum wage was increased to $15 an hour, it wouldn't help people who are stuck in jobs that offer 15-20 hours a week.
To resolve this, to some extent, I believe employment status for non-exempt employees should be categorized on a weekly basis as such.
- Semi Part Time. 19 hours worked or less.
- Regular Part Time. 29 hours worked.
- Semi Full Time. 35 hours worked.
- Regular Full Time. 40 hours worked.
Once an employee is given their job offer, they must be notified of their status. Semi part-timers agree, upon acceptance of the job, that their hours may fluctuate and they may receive as few hours or as many hours as is needed.
If they are regular part time, they must receive pay for 29 hours of work, whether they work 29 hours or not. Therefore, their wage would need to be adjusted accordingly if they work less than 29 hours.
If they are semi full time, they must be paid for a full 35 hours of work and as above, going over 35 hours will result in a differential of $1.50 per hour additional.
If they are regular full time, they must be paid for a full 40 hours of work regardless of the number of hours actually worked. Regular overtime rules apply, of course, for hours over 40, regardless of employment status.
An employee's status cannot be changed without their signature acknowledging and accepting this change.
Additionally, the standard rate will be higher for part time employees.
Semi part time employees will have a standard minimum wage of $4.00 higher per hour. This would make their wages at $17.23 an hour. If they were to work a full 19 hour week, that would bring them to earnings of $327.37.
Regular part time employees will have a standard minimum wage of $2.00 higher per hour. Using the figures from above, this would put the part time wage at $15.23 an hour. For regular part time employees, this guarantees a gross income of $441.67 a week or an annual salary of $22,966.84.
Why the differential rate? If companies wish to hire part-time employees to avoid benefits, they should have to pay more per hour to compensate for this.
What if you call out of work? Companies should, of course, have standard attendance and punctuality policies in place. However, if you call out, you still get paid for the full amount of your wages if you are regular part time or higher. Semi part timers however are not required to be paid for a certain set of hours.
What if you request off of work? If you request time off, then you are only eligible to be paid for the hours you actually worked. A pre-approved time off request must be signed and dated by the employee. However, employees who are Regular Full Time must still be paid for 40 hours regardless.
The only exception is no payment is required for employees who do not perform any work within a designated week.
Labor Advocacy Network
This concept may be very similar to unions but my approach is slightly different, I think. Because I live in a right to work state, I do not know much about how unions operate. So, you can tell me what you think about their operations and how it compares to what I am suggesting.
All employees will have the right to join a labor advocacy network, regardless of their employment status. These groups would be ran by the individual counties and would be not for profit.
Employees who elect to join these programs must make their election after a conditional job offer. An employer cannot discriminate or rescind an offer due to an employee's decision to join this network. If the employee signs up for it, they agree to pay a fee each month at a rate of 2% of their gross earnings per week.
Employers will pay 1% of all labor wages paid, regardless of whether or not an employee is signed up to the program.
Members of the network have the right to no cost representation if at any time they feel their EEOC, OSHA, FLSA, FMLA or any other employment right has been violated. They may make a formalized complaint via phone, mail or the internet. Once a complaint has been made, the advocacy network must make an impartial investigation, in which they would have the right to subpoena documents on behalf of the employee, interview people within the company to conduct the investigation and any other necessary matters.
The employee has a right to submit documentation on their behalf (for example, a copy of a written disciplinary memo issued to them) and can name witnesses.
If the investigation finds any wrongdoing or violations of rights, the organization will then send a command letter to the employer to correct the violation immediately. Should they fail to do so, the organization will have the ability to sue the employer on behalf of the employees.
The organization will also have the ability to audit employers at random, such as payroll documents, to ensure accuracy and consistency.
Additionally, the organization will be required to make records of all complaints available to public viewing, however, without naming the complainant. This data will show how many of each type of complaint has been filed and the results of the findings (example, racial discrimination investigations, racial discrimination findings).
Individuals who do not join this advocacy network still have the right to file complaints, however, they will be required to pay fees at every level of the process, up to and including attorney's fees if the matter goes to court.
Employees of the advocacy network must be represented by a separate entity, possibly the advocacy network of a neighboring county.
Employees can elect to sign up within 30 days after starting a new job or once a year (Jan 1-Jan 31). If they do not elect to sign up within that window, they will not be able to join until the next window.
Streamlined Application and Employee Management System
With technology, we are able to utilize tools to help identify bias and other matters with applications. Employers should be required to use a state ran application management system. This system will track applications of each opening and can be audited by the state's departments for necessary information.
Each applicant's social security number will be assigned to them as a method of tracking identifying EEO information. This information will NOT be visible to employers. The employee can self-report their race, gender, age, any disabilities, national origin and any other relevant information.
If an applicant believes they have been discriminated against, they can launch an investigation with their local advocacy network at no cost. The auditors will use the integrated data to view an employers history as one tool of tracking a pattern of applicant discrimination.
The same system could also be utilized for internal job postings, such as promotions.
In the system, the employer must make notes if they have viewed the application. When they have viewed the application, they will have the options to screen the applicant, schedule an interview or reject the applicant. All steps of the way, the employer must make notes. For example, if they rejected an applicant, they may put a note that says "Applicant not qualified for position."
The notes cannot be edited once posted and can be used in an investigation.
Furthermore, the employees status (full/part time) and their pay rate must be included. This will serve multiple purposes. For one, it will allow the state to determine the wages made in a specific industry, locality and statewide. It will also allow the state to determine if employees of certain protected classes are being paid comparable rates to other employees in the same position. Additionally, it will allow the state to use this tool to track applicants on unemployment to make sure they are applying to jobs.
The labor advocacy network will have locations with working computers that can be used by applicants, such as career source one stops, that allow applicants access and assistance in applying, since paper applications would be entirely eliminated.
Voluntary Paid Leave Program
This is a lengthy section. For this reason, I will not include the details of it here today. I will post it at another time. But essentially, it would mimick the California paid leave program to a degree.
Mandatory Know Your Rights Training
Every employee would be required to take a Know Your Rights training, offered in English and Spanish and French Creole. This must be taken by every employee within 30 days at a new job. The training would be required once a year and would be paid training.
The training would be in a system created by the state, to allow the state to track data of completion. In the training, employees would learn about federal and state laws pertaining to the EEOC, FMLA, FLSA, Worker's Compensation, OSHA and other related laws. The training would be interactive and would include a quiz section to allow employees to test their knowledge.
The training would also include information about joining the labor advocacy networks and the rights that pertain to that, how to file and launch a complaint etc.
The training would be divided in sections to allow employees the opportunity to take the training in separate sittings.
Employees only need to take the training once annually, so if they have already taken it within a year and get a new job, they won't need to retake it until the next year. The employer is accountable to make sure the employees training is up to date.
If you took the time to read this, tell me, what do you think? Would these systems work? What did you like? What didn't you like? What would you add?
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