PROBATION WORKERS DUE $4.1 MILLION IN BACK PAY

Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan has ruled the state owes Missouri’s probation and parole workers $4.1 million in back pay because the Missouri General Assembly illegally exempted unionized employees from pay raises granted to other state workers. Callahan further ruled the state owes more than $300,000 in taxes on the back pay from 2004 to 2007.

However, Callahan didn’t order to the state to provide the owed compensation because to do so would be a judicial infringement on the legislature’s appropriations power. In the April 9 decision, Callahan said he couldn’t compel the legislature to appropriate the money because “a court may not order what it cannot enforce,” The Associated Press reported in an April 17 story. The state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which is still in the legislative process, doesn’t include money for the back compensation.

JUDGES EXEMPTS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM WAGE LAW

Local governments don’t have to comply with the state minimum wage law voter approved in November 2006, Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled on Jan. 8. Callahan said the way the statute is worded makes it inapplicable to local governments. The judge, however, did not address claims that the law violated various provisions of the Missouri Constitution.

The ballot measure initially raised the state minimum wage to $6.50 from $5.15. As of Jan. 1, the wage increased to $6.65 an hour due to an automatic cost of living adjustment.

STATE MINIMUM WAGE TO INCREASE TO $6.65 AN HOUR

Missouri’s standard minimum wage will increase to $6.65 an hour effective Jan. 1, 2008, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The state’s current minimum wage of $6.50 an hour took effect on Jan. 1, 2007, following voter approval of a ballot measure in November 2006 to boost the wage, which had been set at $5.15 an hour since 1997.

Proposition B, which voters passed with 76 percent support, also requires the wage to be adjusted annually for inflation starting in 2008. The pending 15-cent an hour increase in the wage is based on a 2.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index from July 2006 and July 2007.

JUDGE SAYS TIPPED WORKERS OWED MINIMUM WAGE HIKE

The new state minimum wage law Missouri voters approved last year applies to tipped workers, a Cole County Judge ruled on May 29. A group of restaurant owners sued over the law, seeking a declaration that they weren’t obligated to raise wages for tipped employees to $3.25 an hour from the federal minimum of $2.13 an hour.

With 76 percent support, Missouri voters in November approved raising the standard state minimum wage to $6.50 an hour from $5.15 an hour. Supporters said the new law entitled tipped workers to a base pay of half the standard minimum wage.

After the new law took effect on Jan. 1, the Missouri Department of Labor advised employers that they didn’t have to increase base pay for workers who earned at least $6.50 an hour through wages and tips combined. Gov. Matt Blunt overruled the department on March 14.

In her decision, Judge Patricia Joyce said the law granted tipped workers a raise. However, she said employees who were denied increases have to individually sue their employers to recover back wages owed from Jan. 1 to March 14. Employers can avoid such suits by voluntarily paying the back wages.

FIRE DISTRICTS WANT SPECIAL SESSION ON OVERTIME FIX

Four St. Louis-area fire protection districts on May 22 asked the governor to call a special legislative session to fix a flaw in the state’s new minimum wage law that inadvertently changed overtime rules for police and firefighters. The Senate passed SB 255 to address the issue during the regular session, but it died in the House of Representatives where Republican leaders insisted on gutting key voter-approved provisions in addition to the overtime fix.

During session Gov. Matt Blunt had urged lawmakers to pass a bill limited to the overtime fix and respect the wishes of the 76 percent of Missouri voters who voted for the minimum wage law in November. The governor’s spokeswoman told The Kansas City Star “it’s just far too early to talk about special sessions and special session requests.”

House Republicans wanted to repeal the minimum wage increase granted to tipped workers and the annual inflationary adjustments to the minimum wage included in the voter-approved law. Police and fire officials say the House’s lack of action on the fix could cost them millions of dollars in unanticipated overtime costs.

BILL GUTTING MINIMUM WAGE LAW HEADS TO HOUSE FLOOR

Legislation originally intended to fix a flaw in Missouri’s new minimum wage law that a House committee altered to repeal key voter-approved provisions has been forwarded to the House for debate. House Rules Committee Chairman Shannon Cooper, R-Clinton, had threatened to keep the bill, SB 255, stalled without assurances of support for repealing several provisions that provided raises for tipped workers and that include yearly inflationary adjustments for all minimum wage workers.

Proposition B, which Missourians passed in November with 76 percent support, boosted the state’s standard minimum wage to $6.50 from $5.15 an hour and the wage floor for tipped workers to $3.35 from $2.13 an hour. Backers of the ballot measure, however, also made some inadvertent changes related to overtime pay for police and firefighters, which is what SB 255 sought to correct. If the statutory fix isn’t passed this year, it could end up costing local governments substantially more in overtime pay for police and firefighters.
http://www.senate.mo.gov/07info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=4047

JUDGE TELLS STATE TO STAY MUM ON BACK WAGES

Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce on April 10 ordered the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to stay out of a dispute over whether tipped workers whose employers didn’t initially honor the state’s new minimum wage law are entitled to back wages. Joyce’s temporary restraining order instructs the department not to take a position on whether back wages are owed. A hearing the matter is set for next month.
Missouri voters in November passed Proposition B to boost the state’s standard minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.50 an hour and the minimum wage for tipped workers from $2.13 to $3.25 an hour. When the law took effect on Jan. 1, however, the labor department advised employers they didn’t have to give raises to tipped workers, so long as those workers earned at least $6.50 an hour through wages and tips combined.
Gov. Matt Blunt overruled the department on March 14 and ordered it to advise employers to pay tipped workers $3.25 and hour. A group of restaurant owners sued the department last month seeking a court judgment that the proper minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 an hour or, in the alternative, an exemption from paying back wages covering the period of Jan. 1 to March 14.

GOVERNOR OPPOSES GUTTING NEW MINIMUM WAGE LAW

Gov. Matt Blunt says he opposes efforts by House Republicans to severely weaken a minimum wage law Missouri voters approved in November. Blunt made his comments during an April 11 news conference.

With 76 percent support, Missourians approved Proposition B, which increased the state’s standard minimum wage to $6.50 from $5.15 an hour. The Senate in February passed SB 255 to fix a flaw in the minimum wage law related to overtime pay for police and firefighters. When the bill came before a House committee, however, Republican lawmakers voted to repeal key voter-approved provisions that will annually adjust the minimum wage to account for inflation and that boosted the minimum wage for tipped workers to $3.35 from $2.13 an hour.

Blunt said lawmakers should pass the original Senate bill – which the group that placed Prop B on the ballot has endorsed – without making other major changes in defiance of voters. State Rep. Shannon Cooper, R-Clinton, told The Associated Press that he will use his position as House Rules Committee chairman to prevent the bill from reaching a vote unless all issues are addressed. If the statutory fix isn’t passed this year, it could end up costing local governments substantially more in overtime pay for police and firefighters.

Minimum Wage

I recieved the following information regarding what happened in the General Laws Committee this morning:

Republicans on the House General Laws Committee today voted to strip some of the main provisions from a new state minimum wage law Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved in November. Proposition B, which passed with a remarkable 76-percent voter support, increased the state’s standard minimum wage to $6.50 an hour from $5.15 an hour. It also established annual adjustments in the minimum wage based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.

Because of a potential flaw in Proposition B’s wording relating to overtime compensation for police and firefighters, the Senate in February passed SB 255 to address the issue. Proposition B supporters endorsed the proposed fix.

When the House General Laws Committee considered the measure this morning, state Rep. Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, offered a substitute bill that deletes the voter-approved annual cost of living adjustments and also rescinds the minimum wage increase granted to tipped employees. Proposition B increased the minimum wage for tipped employees to $3.25 hour from $2.13 an hour.

The revised bill gutting Proposition B passed on a 5-3 party-line vote. Voting in favor of the measure were Republicans Shannon Cooper of Clinton, Steve Hunter of Joplin, Mike Parson of Boliver, Dwight Scharnhorst of Ballwin and Tilley. Opposed were Democrats Beth Low of Kansas City, Brad Robinson of Bonne Terre and Frame.

Prior to voter approval of Proposition B, Missouri’s minimum wage hadn’t increased since 1997.

Here's the link to the bill: http://www.senate.mo.gov/07info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=4047

Tipped Workers Get Raise

Adhering to the Minimum Wage law passed in November, Blunt has acknowledged that all of Missouri’s workers deserve a raise. Since the new minimum wage went into effect at the beginning of this year, workers who receive tips have had to keep their hourly wage at $2.13. After a group of law professors publicly announced that the Governor’s Department of Labor had incorrectly interpreted the law, Blunt changed his position.

Minimum Wage

Several bills have been filed to fix what sponsors say is a problem with Proposition B, a ballot measure 76 percent of Missouri voters approved in November to increase the state’s minimum wage to $6.50 an hour. Proponents of the fix say Prop B inadvertently deleted from state law a provision exempting police and firefighters from overtime requirements. Many firefighters work 24-hour shifts, while law enforcement officers often have 10- to 12-hour shifts that result in work weeks that exceed 40 hours. State law previously followed federal law, which allowed police to work up to 171 hours and firefighters 212 hours in a 28 day period without qualifying for overtime. Many fire districts and municipalities say the change could cost them millions of dollars in unexpected overtime pay. Eighteen local governments have gone to court asking to be exempt from following the new law, including the minimum wage provisions.

Pay Raises

The General Assembly appears unlikely to reject any hikes for lawmakers, judges and statewide elected officials recommended by the state Salary Commission following a Senate hearing on Jan. 17. Both chambers must approve a resolution rejecting the proposed salary increases by Feb. 1 or they automatically take effect. Senate Majority Floor Leader Charlie Shields, who chairs the panel that heard the resolution, said he doubts there is sufficient support for the measure to clear the committee. However, Shields said the committee will consider forwarding it to the full chamber for debate anyway.
Update: On Jan. 24, the House voted 118-37 to reject pay raises recommended by the state Salary Commission for judges, lawmakers and statewide elected officials. Although the House easily mustered the necessary two-thirds majority, it is anticipated the measure will fall short of the 23 votes needed in the Senate.