2007 Legislature Maintains Balance Between Unions, Management By Joe Mullin. Associated Press Writer - June 22, 2007CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) _ Union representatives and business leaders say that despite several important reforms passed during the 2007 Legislative session, none of the new laws fundamentally alter the balance of power between workers and management.
Union and business lobbyists reached compromises on a series of issues, including workers' compensation. Both sides also managed to kill plenty of legislation they didn't like, including an attempt to ban tip-sharing, stemming from a dispute between card dealers and managers at the Wynn Las Vegas megaresort.
"It was a draw, at the end of the day," said Danny Thompson, president of the Nevada AFL-CIO. "I don't think, at the end of the day, there were any bills that we thought were absolutely horrible that did pass."
Business lobbyists, who successfully opposed a proposed price-gouging law and a bill that would have allowed locked-out workers to collect unemployment benefits, echoed that sentiment.
"Sometimes business just goes in to make sure no one does any real damage" by raising taxes or adding regulation, said Sam McMullen, a lobbyist for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
Casino, restaurant, and other business lobbyists also worked against repeated attempts to ban tip-sharing. They argued it took away business' autonomy and would hurt some lower-paid workers like bus boys and bar backs, who often rely on shared tips.
The proposal had a last-minute revival on the Assembly floor and passed 32-10, but did not receive a hearing in the Senate.
AB494, a proposal to let workers locked out by their employers collect unemployment compensation, drew strong opposition from Chamber of Commerce lobbyists, who said it would have affected the balance of power between labor and management.
McMullen said that letting locked-out workers collect unemployment would have put an added strain on employers who use lockouts as a tactic. Thompson and other union lobbyists argued that locked-out workers should be eligible for unemployment benefits, since they want to work but are prevented from doing so.
The bill passed the Democrat-controlled Assembly on a 28-14 party-line vote, but ultimately died without a vote in a Senate committee.
"People have worked hard over the years to make sure the labor laws are balanced, in terms of the advantages the employer has as opposed to the union," said McMullen. ``That's what made that bill so much more interesting and controversial."
A perennial bill to allow state government workers to form unions, AB601, also died in the Senate after passing the Assembly on a party-line vote.
Business, labor, trial lawyers and state officials reached compromises on a series of issues around workers compensation insurance, most of which were rolled into AB496.
Among other things, that bill requires employers who fire injured workers to prove that the firing was solely due to misconduct, or continue to pay.
"That's becoming a popular way to get out of workers comp situations, where the worker is just fired," said Thompson.
The bill also allows injured workers to seek out-of-state medical care under special circumstances, which isn't possible under current law.
Some of the workers compensation negotiations mirrored what happened on other issues. Worker representatives wanted to increase the salary ratios paid out to injured workers, while employers and insurers wanted to increase the number of small claims they could close and be done with. In the end, both proposals were dropped.
What came out was a "limited, but pretty good bill for both sides," said McMullen.
Among the session's successes, Thompson cited several bills he said will improve conditions for workers, including AB110, which makes permanent a tax abatement for apprenticeship programs, and AB56, which penalizes unlicensed contractors.
McMullen said he was pleased with AB629, which will increase a subsidy available to pay for health care for low-income workers.
State officials took no position on the worker-lockout bill, which may come back in 2009, said Terry Johnson, director of Nevada's Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation.
Johnson said several other bills were passed that will serve the state's workforce well, including SB384, which exempts certain vocational programs for people with disabilities from paying the state's minimum wage law. If that bill hadn't passed, some of those programs wouldn't have been able to continue to operate, said Johnson.
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