Connecticut Debates Wages for Tipped Workers

Connecticut restaurant owners this week wrote to Gov. Ned Lamont and top lawmakers, asking for them to hold a special legislative session to resolve a long legal battle over how much their workers should be paid. Employers in the state are allowed to pay waiters and other food service employees a lower rate than minimum wage if they earn tips, but the Department of Labor told restaurant owners that workers need to spend at least 80% of their time waiting tables to qualify for the reduced pay; this excludes some restaurant employees, including food prep workers and dishwashers, and spurred a series of lawsuits from workers who say they are now owed back pay. Legislators attempted to codify the labor department’s rule into law earlier in the year, but the bill was vetoed by Lamont, a Democrat, who said it would have been unfair to workers. The Connecticut Restaurant Association said that owners are struggling to understand what the rules mean. "Connecticut’s restaurants and their 119,000 local employees have been living in an uncertain regulatory environment for some time, and creating stability in this sector will only benefit our state economy. We can ensure that servers and bartenders continue to earn well in excess of minimum wage, without asking small businesses to pay additional wages to employees who already make well over the minimum wage, on average,” the letter to the governor reads. Lamont is now asking state lawmakers to convene for a special session and consider a new legislative proposal from his administration, which he said would clarify rules for owners and establish protections for workers who have legitimate claims of unpaid wages. "Rather than retroactively repealing existing regulations, my proposal requires [the Department of Labor] to expedite the promulgation of new regulations...I urge you to [respond] promptly and to very quickly...act in a special session to adopt the common sense proposal my team has put forward,'' Lamont wrote to legislative leaders. [Hartford Courant; CT Post; WFSB]

VOTER SUPPRESSION | Voter registration in Florida opened this week, but the Florida Online Voter Registration site was down for several hours over the the weekend, prompting Florida Democrats to accuse Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, of engaging in voter suppression efforts. “The Division of Elections is conducting routine maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience,” the site said. DeSantis’ administration contends that the site’s maintenance was unintentionally scheduled during the same week as National Voter Registration Day, which last year saw 800,000 people sign up to vote. “The routine maintenance helps increase security for the site,” said Sarah Revell, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State. One of the critics of the timing was Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor beaten by DeSantis, who tweeted out a screenshot of the site when it was down. Terrie Rizzo, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, also said that the timing is more than coincidental. “Governor Ron DeSantis knows that the Florida Democratic Party strategy of registering and turning out voters will result in victory in 2020. Shuttering the online voter registration site for ‘maintenance’ as we kick off our largest voter registration week is the latest act of voter suppression from a governor who has doubled down on voter suppression tactics during his short tenure,” she said. [Tampa Bay Times; The Hill]

CHINA PARTNERSHIP | Former California Gov. Jerry Brown announced a partnership between China and the University of California, Berkeley to investigate new forms of low-carbon technology meant to combat climate change. Brown said that the partnership is meant to ensure a global way forward, regardless of whether President Trump withdraws the U.S. from international climate initiatives. “We’re totally committed to the kinds of open communication that are closing down virtually everywhere else...The climate threat doesn’t respect borders and it doesn’t pause for politics. This will be the open channel between America and China on the number one topic our countries share–not trade but climate change,” he said. The move comes after Trump last week revoked California’s authority to set state-level vehicle fuel efficiency standards that are more stringent than those at the federal level—which state leaders have vowed to challenge. Brown is also urging other states to pursue their own climate initiatives in the absence of federal movement. Officials from UC Berkeley said they are excited to welcome Brown and Chinese officials to campus. “Berkeley is uniquely positioned to help these two world leaders address the pressing issue of climate change,” said Chancellor Carol Christ. [Reuters; Politico; Daily Californian]

INSTAGRAM THREATS | A Montana man was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for threatening Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler via the comment section of one of Wheeler’s Instagram posts. Kermit Ty Poulson threatened to throw a Molotov cocktail through a window in the mayor’s house if he did not fire Portland police Sgt. Garry Britt, who was involved in the fatal shooting of Patrick Kimmons, a black man who was shot by police more than a dozen times last year. Poulson’s lawyer, Bear Wilner-Nugent, said that he has a “gravely troubled mental and neurological health history,” and “cannot stop talking, and says anything that comes into his head.” Poulson apologized for his words. “It was wrong. I shouldn’t have done that. It will never be repeated,” he told U.S. District Judge Michael Simon. The judge said that Poulson’s actions were more harmful than he perhaps intended. “You horribly frightened some people. You can’t do that. Just making the threats causes tremendous harm,” Simon said. [Oregon Live; Oregon Public Radio]

PET STORE BAN | The city council of Reno, Nevada is considering a ban on pet stores within city limits, and issued an immediate moratorium on licenses for new pet stores. The legislative measure comes after Puppies Plus, the only puppy store currently in the city, was accused of animal mistreatment and torture. The owners have pleaded not guilty to animal mistreatment charges. The motion for the moratorium was unanimously approved, and supported by Mayor Hillary Schieve, who said she wants to see a full ban happen soon. “I’m going to cut to the chase, I don’t want a moratorium … I’d like to see a ban of puppy stores in the City of Reno,” said Schieve. Reno City Manager Bill Thomas said that a full ban will likely only be able to prevent future businesses, but would not close the doors of Puppies Plus, provided it doesn’t change owners. “It’s very difficult to take away businesses that exist. It’s much easier to stop new businesses from coming,” he said. [Reno Gazette Journal]