25 Senators Vote To Kill Bill That Would Reward Employers Who Cheat Employees Out Of Their Wages

It's a law that has been on the books since the Great Depression to protect workers from dishonest employers who refuse to pay wages owed to their employees, or former employees as is typically the case. Under the guise of punishing attorneys who help defrauded employees recover their unpaid wages, State Rep. David Ober (R-Albion) introduced HB 1126, a bill that would have gutted Indiana's effective Unpaid Wage Payment Law, in an effort to reward dishonest employers who cheat their employees out of their wages. The bill flew out of the House on a 91-3 vote, but thanks to readers of this blog who helped spread the word and contacted lawmakers in the Senate we were successful in getting 25 senators to vote to kill HB 1126, which was being sponsored by Sen. Carlin Yoder and Sen. Scott Schneider in the Senate. The version voted on in the Senate had been softened somewhat in committee by amendment but still advanced no other purpose than to aid and abet employers who beat employees out of their wages. It's worth singling out those senators who stood on the side of workers and voted against HB 1126. They are:

Alting
Arnold
Becker
Bray
Breaux
Broden
Grooms
Head
Hershman
Hume
Kenley
Lanane
Mrvan
Nugent
Randolph
Rogers
Skinner
Smith
Stoops
Talian
Taylor
Tomes
Waltz
Young
Zakas

Be sure and thank your senators who stood on the side of the state's workers, and let those senators who voted to side with dishonest employers know how disappointed you are in their vote. My senator, Billie Jean Breaux, voted against it. Thank you, Sen. Breaux. These 25 senators obviously understood the value of a law that has worked so effectively all these years in helping provide a legal remedy to workers who've been beaten out of their wages. If I understand Senate rules correctly, HB 1126 could still be reconsidered since the vote, 23-25, was indecisive in that less than a 26 members in the 50-member body voted against it. Two senators were not present for the vote. You can view the roll call vote by clicking here.