The Alachua County Commission will discuss enacting a possible wage theft ordinance at its evening public hearing today despite Commissioner Lee Pinkoson’s request to delay that conversation.
The wage theft item was added to the agenda on Friday and thus wasn’t included in Thursday’s initial agenda packet last week, which Pinkoson said left him without enough time to review the materials and discuss the issue with staff and others beforehand. He said he wasn’t well-informed enough to vote on the issue today and asked that it be delayed for two weeks to the commission’s next regular meeting to give him time to learn more.
“I’m just asking for two weeks. I’m not trying to undermine it or sabotage it,” he said of the ordinance, which would allow employees to bring complaints against employers regarding unpaid wages to the county. Examples of wage theft include not being paid overtime or being paid only in tips. A local task force is pushing for the county to enact an ordinance to help area employees regain their earned-but-withheld wages.
Commissioner Mike Byerly countered that the county is on a time crunch to adopt an ordinance since state Sen. Rob Bradley, whose district includes Alachua County, has introduced a bill (SB 1216) that would preempt future wage theft ordinances. Pinkoson argued that two weeks wouldn’t make that much of a difference.
Commissioner Robert “Hutch” Hutchinson said it would be “impolite” to delay the conversation because people expect this to be discussed today. Its inclusion on the agenda has been announced through a county press release and the local news media.
The wage theft discussion was scheduled for the commission’s evening meeting today, and the commission agenda was approved in a 3-2 vote with Pinkoson and Commissioner Susan Baird in dissent.
Pinkoson said it was “frustrating” that he didn’t have the time to learn enough about the issue so he could make a quality decision because it was added late to the agenda rather than by Thursday as usual. Byerly pointed out that he had the wage theft materials over the weekend, which he said could be read in about 45 minutes. He also said he wanted to have as many public discussions as possible on this issue so the commission can explore its various facets, including its impact on employers, which Pinkoson had cited as a concern.
Jeremiah Tattersall, a member of the Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force, said it was important to keep the issue on today’s agenda because he expects at least 50 people to attend the evening meeting. He also said a more concrete proposal, which could emerge from tonight’s discussion, would be helpful in furthering the community conversation about the ordinance with businesses.