Associated Press
Carson City — A committee formed to protect Nevada’s jobs has filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate a petition aimed at raising the minimum wage and imposing outrageous penalties on Nevada employers, including small businesses.
The Committee to Preserve Nevada Jobs is made up of three Nevada chambers of commerce: the Las Vegas Latin Chamber, the Las Vegas Metro Chamber and the Chamber of Reno, Sparks and Northern Nevada.
At face value, the Nevada Minimum Wage Increase Initiative, filed by the Committee to Raise the Minimum Wage in Nevada, appears to be altruistic. However, this ill-conceived measure goes far beyond changing the minimum wage and will impose new regulations and stiff penalties intended to harm employers – even those who have minor, unintentional violations.
“The Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce is a vocal advocate for Hispanics and small businesses,” Latin Chamber President & CEO Otto Merida said. “This dangerous petition does not just seek to increase the minimum wage. If passed, it would also impose mandatory damages of three times actual damages, plus it would require even the smallest businesses to pay plaintiff attorney fees. It would cripple small businesses for even the smallest infraction.”
If passed, the Nevada Minimum Wage Increase Initiative would:
Create a system that severely punishes all employers by mandating three times the actual damages, even for unintentional violations;
Provide a constitutional right for class action lawsuits;
Require even the smallest employers to pay plaintiffs’ attorneys fees; and
Substantially reduce the time employers have to implement any changes in the minimum wage
“This is a job-killing proposal, pure and simple. Nevada’s employers cannot weather the effects of this punitive initiative,” said Kristin McMillan, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce. “Nevada is still recovering from the great recession. While our unemployment rate has steadily ticked downward, we are still higher than the national rate of 5 percent. This initiative would change Nevada’s business climate and send the wrong message to employers who want to hire workers and create jobs.”
“This proposal is not only a tremendous burden for small business job creators, but it’s also detrimental to the people they employ,” said CEO of the Chamber of Reno Sparks and Northern Nevada Len Stevens.
Im only making 7.50 hr
So then will the employer pay the bills of his employees. How do you expect someone to live on 7.50 an hour? If you work full-time at 7.50 an hour then you are just a slave. Just enough money to pay one bill a month. Here’s an idea. Lets pay the reporters at this paper 7.50 an hout and see what they would write about.
Carson City Needs to worry about the DMV ….Laws, Policy, Procedures, and cut their pay until such a voice of a opinion is worth a shit. The Head Cheese ball that has been with the DMV for so many years is worried about the lines? Or waiting Time. LMFAO…….. I have over 20 different documents from 5 Las Vegas DMVs including several email and legal documents showing how far their heads up there azzez! Let the State take over DMVs.. Fire everyone in CARSON CITY. Bye the way Mr.Otto Know ….Law Suits and everything you said is already going on….Work on laws , justice, insurance frauds, police reports filled out correctly, civil suits never been served, etc…. making the middle class fucked , tow frauds scams , Ive spent 3 years of work dealing with COMPLETE WRONG.