Rep. Cohen co-sponsors wage theft legislation because of your calls

   Your participation in WIN's press conference and your calls to Congressman Cohen on the National Day of Action Against Wage Theft made a difference! Rep. Cohen has now co-sponsored three bills that could make a big difference in the fight against wage theft.

   Please take a moment to thank Congressman Cohen for standing up for fair pay. You can send him an email or make a thank you call to David Greengrass, Rep. Cohen's senior legislative assistant at 202-225-3265.  

   So, what are the bills that Congressman Cohen co-sponsored, and what difference will they make to workers if passed?

1) The Wage Theft and Community Partnerships Act (HR 6268)
What would it do?
HR 6268 would allow the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division to establish a community grants program. These grants would be given to knowledgeable, experienced community and labor groups who have dealt with wage theft. These groups would partner with the Department of Labor to prevent wage theft by educating workers about their wage rights and what to do if their wages are stolen, and to educate employers about their responsibilities to follow wage laws.

Why does it matter to workers?
As I posted a couple of months ago, this bill represents the kind of "community policing" approach that's needed if the Department of Labor is going to reach workers who are most vulnerable to wage theft. Workers' Centers, labor unions, and legal clinics that have experience with wage theft often know best which industries or employers in their community commit the most wage theft. They also have built relationships of trust with low-wage workers. As New York state's Wage Watch program is showing, these types of partnerships are powerful.

2) The Wage Theft Prevention Act (HR 3303/S 3877)
What would it do?
HR 3303 makes sure that workers don't miss out on the chance to get back their stolen wages just because their employers manage to drag out investigations by the Department of Labor. This legislation would freeze the statute of limitations for recovering wages from the date that the Department of Labor informs an employer that he or she is being investigated for wage theft. The legislation would also allow workers to file private lawsuits to try to recover their wages while the Department of Labor investigation is going on.

Why does it matter to workers?
An investigation of the Department of Labor by the Government Accountability Office in 2009 found that often the DOL took so long to complete wage investigations that the statute of limitations ran out and workers lost their opportunity to get their back pay. Some employers are aware of this and are uncooperative during investigations so that they take longer. Having the right to file a private lawsuit would mean that workers have other options if the Department of Labor is taking a long time to investigate their case.

3) The Fair Playing Field Act of 2010 (HR 6128/S 3786)
What would it do?
This bill closes a tax loophole that allows businesses to misclassify employees as independent contractors. It would allow the International Revenue Service to issue guidance to employers about who can be considered an independent contractor versus who must be considered an employee. It would also amend the tax code, to end reduced penalties that currently exist when employers faile to withhold income taxes and pay FICA taxes.

Why does it matter to workers?
Misclassification can occur in any industry, but the problem is rampant in construction. Employees are guaranteed minimum wage, overtime pay, workers compensation coverage, unemployment insurance coverage, and their employer pays half of their Social Security and Medicare taxes. Independent contractors, on the other hand, do not have any of these gurantees and they must pay the entire portion of the Social Security and Medicare taxes. By misclassifying workers, unethical business avoid normal payroll procedures and paying taxes and benefits required by law.

   As you can see, all three of these bills are needed to prevent and punish wage theft, and Congressman Cohen deserves to be thanked for his support.

IRS Tips for Making Charitable Donations

The end of the tax year is rapidly approaching, and lots of donors are making their final charitable gifts to their favorite charities. So many of you have shown such generosity to WIN this year, and I'm so grateful to each of you.

I thought it was a good time for a few reminders:

It's not too late to make a year end gift to Workers Interfaith Network. You can donate online through Dec. 31 and it will still be counted for this tax year. If you give by check, the check must be mailed no later than Dec. 31 (send to WIN, 3035 Directors Row, B - 1207, Memphis, TN 38131.

Your generous gift of any size will enable WIN to do the following in 2010:

• partner with the growing number of workers to recover stolen wages from their employers.
• press government agencies and elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels to do more to protect workers from dangerous working conditions and wage theft.
• offer more training opportunities to low-wage workers, including safety training classes for construction workers and English as a Second Language classes.

Also, I thought folks might want to know a few things that the IRS wants you to know about making charitable contributions:

• To be deductible, charitable contributions must be made to qualified organizations. Most organizations can tell you whether they are qualified. As a 501(c)(3) organization, WIN is a qualified organization.
• In order to deduct your charitable contributions, you must itemize deductions, using Form 1040, Schedule A.
• Generally, monetary donations are deductible, as well as the fair market value of most property donated to a qualified organization. Special rules apply for several types of donated property, including clothing, household items, cars, and boats.
• If your contribution entitles you to receive merchandise, goods, or services in return - such as admission to a charity banquet or sporting event - you can only deduct the amount that is more than the fair market value of the benefit you received. Small items that have only a token value do not affect the deductibility of your contribution.
• Regardless of the amount your donate, it is important to keep good records of contributions made. Cash contributions require a receipt. Keep cancelled checks or a bank or credit card statement, a payroll deduction record, or a written record from the charity that contains the date and amount of the contribution alsong with your name. (For donations to WIN, the thank you letter we send you contains all the necessary information you'll need, so be sure to keep it.)
• Only contributions actually made during the tax year can be deducted. So if you pledged to give $500 to a charity during the year, but only gave $200 by Dec. 31, only the $200 is deductible.
• Include credit card charges and payments by check in the year they are given to the charity, even if you do not actually pay the credit card bill or have your bank account debited until the next year.
• For any contribution of $250 or more, you must have a written acknoweldgement from the organization to validate your donation. It must include the amount given or a description of property donated, and whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchnage for the gift. (Again, thank you letters from WIN provide all this information.)
• To deduct charitable contributions of noncash items that are valued at $500 or more, you must complete Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, and attach the form to your tax return.
• If you are donating a noncash item worth more than $5,000, generally you must obtain an appraisal.

More information is available from the IRS in Publication 526, Charitable Contributions.

Hope this helps as you finish your year-end giving!