House bill could stump Job Center

Deirdre Newman

While some day laborers at the Job Center embraced a bill introduced

in Congress on Thursday that would give them a slew of protections,

some employers said the bill’s mandates could force the closing of

the controversial center.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) introduced the Day Labor Fairness and

Protection Act that would require that employers and laborers be

covered under the Occupational Health and Safety Act; that verbal

contracts be enforced; that laborers be paid at least the same as the

prevailing rate paid to permanent employees; and that employers cover

costs for work-related injuries.

Day laborers said the bill would go far in giving them rights they

don’t have, such as being compensated for work-related injuries.

“If you have something really serious happen to you, like you

break a foot or an arm, you’re out of work,” said Glenn Wilson, who

uses the center to find painting jobs. “And there’s no benefits in

[the current] package.”

But potential employers said the requirements in the bill may be

too much for some employers to deal with.

“It will immediately eliminate all the people who use the Job

Center ... like employers who are not business-experienced in

compliance with OSHA standards,” said Bill Turpit, an attorney and

Westside activist. “OSHA is a whole bureaucracy. It sets standards

for ladders, scaffolding and everything under the sun. And companies

that do construction do a great deal in complying with it.”

Turpit was also quick to point out the bill’s good points like

trying to treat day laborers fairly and penalties against employer

retaliation.

In his introductory speech, Gutierrez cited to statistics that

show that 40% of day laborers in this country are homeless and

asserted that it’s time they are treated fairly.

“While day laborers may face unpredictability in a day’s work, one

thing is abundantly clear and always constant in their struggles: the

fear of workplace injury, the fight for enough money to get by, and

the continuous uphill battle against exploitation and abuse,”

Gutierrez said Thursday.

At the Job Center, employers are already required to pay the

minimum wage.

But some employers don’t always pay the amount they offer when

they hire you, said Eddie Smith, who comes to the center to find jobs

involving moving, warehouse work and construction.

“Most of the people here are good, but one guy ripped me off,”

Smith said.

Turpit is also concerned that the mandate that employers pay the

prevailing rate would take away the laborers’ ability to negotiate.

“I think it establishes a whole different standard,” Turpit said.

“It takes it away from the market rate, which the day laborer uses to

negotiate with an employer, and it mandates a certain level of

payment, which may or may not be acceptable.”

The bill would require day labor service agencies to post in a

public area a list of all employers seeking day laborers, with

information such as the hourly wage they offer. It would also require

these agencies to provide detailed description of the work, including

duration and overtime rate of pay.

If passed, the day laborers would be notified of their new rights

by the myriad advocacy groups that support them, said Scott Frotman,

Gutierrez’s press secretary.

Turpit suggested that the city legislate its own standards to keep

the Job Center viable.

“My suggestion is that if there are violations of fairness, that

the city look at that and consider implementing some basic standards

of fairness and then give the laborers the right to enforce those

standards, rather than the need for the federal government to preempt

the whole area of regulation,” Turpit said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].