On January 1st of this year Las Cruces minimum wage workers saw a wage increase from $7.50 an hour to $8.40, At least they were supposed to.
Amber Care is an in home personal care provider for the elderly and disabled. Though the business is registered in Las Cruces, Amber Care has been withholding the full minimum wage from employees serving clients outside the city limits. Instead of receiving $8.40 an hour they have only been getting $8 dollars.
In the Las Cruces Sun News former Dona Ana County commissioner Oscar Vasquez Butler shed light on Amber Care’s pay practices after speaking with some of their employees. Vasquez-Butler says as many as 100 of the 318 people working at Amber Care in Las Cruces and surrounding areas have been denied the full legal Las Cruces wage. Vasquez-Butler says none of them were comfortable being identified for fear of losing their jobs.
“They said the supervisors told us we are not entitled because our work assignments in the county” said Oscar Vasquez-Butler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I0S-LdVqiU&feature=youtu.be
If an employer is caught not paying the federal minimum wage; $7.25 an hour or above the Federal Department of Labor can take criminal action, levy fines up $1100.00 per violation and recover back wages on the behalf of employees. But because the $8.40 minimum wage is Las Cruces law, it is left to city of Las Cruces to enforce it.
Las Cruces city manager Robert Garza says the ordinance allows employees to take their employers to district court to sue for compensation and lost wages.
But Garza says since the Las Cruces minimum wage increase went into effect that hasn’t happened and there have been few legitimate wage violations. He also says claims like the ones made against Amber Care can be reconciled by putting employers on notice.
“We reached out to that employers and said Hey are you aware that we have this? Obviously you are paying wages, but we received the complaint and we would like you to look at the situation. They looked at it and said you know it is a lot easier for us to just pay the same wage. So compliance, that is what we strive for with any ordinance." said Garza.
KRWG contacted Amber Care CEO Catherine Rosacker–Sharp she said area employees working outside Las Cruces will now be paid $8.40 an hour. But Amber Care will NOT provide back pay. Rosacker-Sharp maintains Amber Care was not in violation of the Las Cruces minimum wage law and chose to increase wages to maintain employee morale and service.
A positive resolution in this instance. But if Amber Care or any other organization chose not to accommodate the city’s request, the Las Cruces minimum wage ordinance would be powerless to compel Amber Care to comply. That leaves the low wage workers to take on the fight for the wage the city has put in to law alone in district court.
Legal aid may be available for workers who are denied the city’s new minimum wage. But as Vasquez Butler points out the Amber Care employees he is in contact with don’t want to be interviewed, let alone take their employer to court.
“They really don’t have any faith in the system” Vasquez Butler said.
“You are still in poverty and right now with the scarcity of work jobs that don’t come easy in this county. They are in fear.” Vasquez Butler said.
City minimum wage laws in Santa Fe and Albuquerque have faced similar challenges. In May 2014 Albuquerque added criminal penalties anyone who violates the wage law is subject to a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail. That option was considered by the Las Cruces city council but was not adopted on advice from the former city attorney.
KRWG asked all of the Las Cruces City Councilors if they would propose a criminal or financial enforcement measure. All acknowledged a potential need but only city councilor Nathan Small said he was considering such a proposal.
“It is an issue that needs to be addressed, because if folks are paying under the wage it punishes those employers that are playing by the rules and it punishes employees.” Small said.
City councilor and Mayor Pro-Tem Greg Smith says he would not be the one to introduce an enforcement measure.
“How many other ordinances do we currently have on the books that we are not fully enforcing? This, I hate to be complacent about it but this is one more or at least one more that is going to be difficult to enforce.” Smith said.
City manager Garza says it would require monitoring and administration the city didn’t budget for when the law was passed and it could open a legal can of worms .
“Can it be done? Yes. But should it be done? That is the million dollar question.” Garza said.
Oscar Vasquez Butler says yes, it should be done. He is contact with many Amber Care workers and said without proper oversight there might be more low wage workers being taken advantage of, but too afraid to defend their legal rights.
"Why have a law if you are not going to worry about monitoring it. They are out citing you for seatbelts, they are citing you for having a faulty light, they are citing you for not making a signal change and yet, when you have a wage increase they are not complying they are not enforcing it. That is a very negligent on the cities part; not ensuring employees get a wage increase that they passed an ordinance on.” Vasquez Butler said.
The Las Cruces City council is scheduled to assess the overall impact of the Las Cruces minimum wage ordinance in July. During the same month, Amber Care tells KRWG they will challenge the city’s minimum wage law for employees who work outside of the city limits. As for Councilor Nathan Small he says the city needs to evaluate business compliance and the best avenues to resolve wage disputes.
