The Department of Labor Does Nothing For Minimum Wage Workers

I can't think of anything worse than a person who works for low wages not getting their last paycheck from an employer. Yes I can--being told by the US Department of Labor that "this is not a case" is worse.

The Government Accountability Office released a report yesterday that excoriates the Department of Labor for doing nothing to help people who complained about not getting paid for their work.

GAO identified case studies that show WHD inadequately investigated complaints from low-wage and minimum wage workers alleging that employers failed to pay the federal minimum wage, required overtime, and failed to pay employees their last paychecks. Examples of inadequate WHD responses to complaints included instances where WHD inappropriately rejected complaints, failed to adequately investigate complaints, or neglected to investigate until it was too late. The investigations for these cases were inadequate for a variety of reasons.

For example, investigators stated that some delays in investigating cases were caused by a backlog of complaints. In these cases by the time a complaint was assigned to an investigator, the statute of limitations for assessing back wages was close to expiring. In another instance an investigator stated that a thorough investigation was not performed because the complaint was filed anonymously. In addition, several investigators stated that because complaints were related to isolated issues, WHD did not normally perform a full investigation.

Finally, for one last paycheck complaint, when asked about why a thorough investigation was not performed, the investigator simply stated it "was not a case."

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt--you're not going to be able to solve every problem, every issue and every dispute. We're not talking about a lot of money here--we're talking about something more important.

We're talking about trying to do something on behalf of people for whom that small amount of money is a lot of money and for people who at least tried to complain, at least tried to seek redress, and who used the system to reconcile their differences with an employer.

Somebody forgot what they're supposed to be doing for working Americans:

The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support.

The Department of Labor isn't there because employers need to be protected--it's there because employees have been ripped off, taken advantage of, and abused. And if they can't at least try to stand up for the little guy, then those investigators, their supervisors--everyone--needs to quit and go work somewhere else. And, maybe, just maybe, when their employer rips them off, they'll figure out what this is supposed to be about.

You can be damned certain of one thing--those bureaucrats would scream to high heaven and file grievance after grievance if the Department of Labor didn't pay them for a week's worth of work.

Exactly What We Don't Need (One More edition)

I guess you just need to expect incompetence from these people...

MSNBC BREAKING NEWS
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon said on Tuesday that it mistakenly shipped non-nuclear ballistic missile components to Taiwan from a U.S. Air Force base in Wyoming.
It said the items have been returned to the United States.
At a news conference, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said that the misshipped items were four nose cone assemblies for ballistic missiles. He also said it was sent instead of helicopter batteries that had been ordered by Taiwan, he said.
Wynne said the matter is under investigation.
Ryan Henry, the No. 2 policy official in the office of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said President Bush was notified of the mistake and the actions to recover the items. Henry called the mistake "disconcerting" and intolerable.

So, now the question is this: given that the Air Force has now shipped nuclear weapons across the country without properly accounting for them, and given this latest slip-up, who's being fired?

Shouldn't Gates just be wholesale cashiered on this one, to reassure the Chinese that we're serious about looking for accountability on this matter? I'm thinking that if we fired Gates, Wynne and a few others, that might do the trick.

Don't hold your breath.

Update I - Blue Girl - 10:20 central

It is time for the House and Senate Armed Services committees to call for and demand a global stand-down of the Air Force. The errors that are happening are too frequent and too egregious and the incompetence of the godboys at the top represents a clear and immediate threat to the national security. When the next president takes over, the Air Force needs a top to bottom evaluation, and a whole bunch of retirements need to be forced, and reviewed. Some of the incompetents with eagles and stars on their collars need to be retired as O-3's by congress. We take this all very personally in this household. We gave the Air Force the best years of our lives. We want to be proud of that again.

UPDATE II - PALE RIDER

Oh, NOW YOU TELL US!!!

At a Pentagon news conference, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the misshipped items were four electrical fuses for nose cone assemblies for ICBMs. He also said they were delivered to Taiwan in 2006 and had been sent instead of helicopter batteries that had been ordered by Taiwan.

The fuses were manufactured for use on a Minuteman strategic nuclear missile but contain no nuclear materials.

"This could not be construed as being nuclear material. It is a component for the fuse in the nosecone for a nuclear system," Wynne said. "We are very concerned about it."

Wynne said the matter is under investigation. He said the Taiwanese authorities notified U.S. officials of the mistake. He said the fuses had been in a shipping container sent from one U.S. Air Force base to another in 2005 and then delivered to Taiwan in 2006.

Well, I guess that's okay then! It happened several years ago! No big deal! Nothing like disclosing these kinds of things in a timely fashion, huh?

UPDATE III - Blue Girl - 11:00 AM

Without saying anything that I shouldn't - my husband spent his career working on electronics systems of ICBMs, so please believe me when I tell you this...it isn't about the nuclear material, and stressing that fissibles were not compromised, move along, nothing to see here...is a headfake.

These fuses are not what civilians think of when they hear the word "fuse." They are top-secret components in the electrical systems of ICBMs. The warhead is the easy part of a missile system. The hard part is the delivery vehicle - you don't deliver a nuclear payload by oxcart, you know. Compromising the electronics is possibly providing the final piece of information to a rogue state like North Korea that is openly developing missile technology to allow them to finally have a weapon that will reach the west coast. This is a big god-damned deal, and careers need to end over it.

UPDATE IV - Blue Girl - 11:30 AM

I just got off the phone. I called the Armed Services committee of both chambers (House: 202-225-4151. Senate 202-224-3871.) I was very respectful, but I also got my point across, that I am not a hysterical housewife obsessing over cable news - or at least not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, hysterical housewife, anyway. That was dispelled when I gave them my husbands name, rank, dates of service, and ELAB AFSC.

Both of the staffers I spoke with were very polite and extremely concerned about this incident. They understood that it isn't about the fissibles, it's about the delivery vehicle. When I said the Air Force needed to stand down globally, the SASC staffer said "I can assure you something will come of this."

I am taking him at his word, as Senator Levin's proxy, but I will be watching just the same.

The kind of liberal that gives us all a bad name

A few minutes ago, I opened my email and found a request from one of my sane Republican friends (they do exist, put down the hatchet). He is outraged at a comment made by a professor in class this morning. I read his post and agree whole heartedly.

I have said before that I am not a liberal because I am rebelling against a military upbringing. I am a liberal because I internalized the values of social mobility, equal access to services, pay equity, etc.

When other liberals attack the military, I am prone to attacking them. And pointing out that until they know something, they should STFU.

I am proud of my friend for walking out of that class this morning, and I would have done the same thing - probably not without incident.

So - without further ado, I give you a crosspost from The Left handed Elephant:

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Beyond the Pale

I sat there in disbelief. I couldn’t believe my ears, my mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

This morning I sat in a class with over one hundred other students and listened to a Distinguished Professor proceed to make such an off-color remark, so offensive in nature that I was compelled to get up and walk out of the lecture. At least five other students walked out as well.

I’m a moderate guy and I’ve grown accustomed to living among the liberals. At a prestigious private university in America, you pretty much have to. But I have always found that professors, no matter their personal views, make an effort to present multiple viewpoints. In a public policy program such as the one I’m in, it’s important to keep in mind that there are many conflicting interests in a given issue. Simply stated, if there weren’t it wouldn’t be contentious. But we reason together as colleagues and at the end of the day we sincerely remain on friendly terms.

This particular professor’s comments throughout the course have made it clear which end of the spectrum he stands on. These are private views which all persons are entitled to. But when aired while in the role of expert and professor, they generate a perception of bias that makes one question the objectivity with which one will be graded let alone the bad impression left on students from other countries.

So here’s the offensive comment and the context. While discussing Supreme Court cases such as U.S. v. Virginia, a student asked why the military was able to use gender as a discriminating factor (such as in physical fitness tests, for example). Citing the Court’s deference to military experts in areas pertaining to professional readiness, the professor said “The military can do pretty much anything it wants, except win wars.” {emphasis mine} I do not have perfect recall, and another student remembered the quote as “except win a war.” Which one you find more offensive I suppose could relate to your views on the current war.

When called to account for this remark by a student, the professor’s mea culpa was “I’m sorry you’re offended.” As many who’ve lambasted the President’s mike gaff during the 2000 campaign can attest, that’s not the same as an expression of genuine remorse.

This isn’t a neophyte professor either. He graduated from Marietta College in 1964 and earned his Ph.D. from University of Chicago in 1969. He sits on the Board of Trustees for Marietta College. He is widely known as an expert in the field of public administration with regard to constitutional law.

I was happy to see students from both sides of the political spectrum stand up almost simultaneously and walk out. I invite all comments, but I think the defenders of his statement will be few and far between.