Isthmus

DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Blanchard hit on wage claims
Non-prosecution policy costs him labor endorsement


Date: August 12, 2004

By Bill Lueders

Sally Stix says that if the roles were reversed -- if an employee were caught ripping off an employer, rather than the other way around -- the district attorney's office would likely get involved. As she sees it, that other way around is exactly what's happening: "The employer is actually stealing from the employee."

Stix, a local employment and labor lawyer who is challenging incumbent District Attorney Brian Blanchard under the Green Party banner, is talking about the DA's office's policy to generally not prosecute employers found in violation of fair wage laws. The state Department of Workforce Development (DWD), which investigates these cases, relies on district attorneys to go after employers in cases where a voluntary settlement is not reached.

Last August, Blanchard notified the DWD that his office "lacks the resources to file and prosecute actions for collections of wage complaints" due to "very tight budgetary constraints." He said qualifying claimants would henceforth be referred to a UW Law School program or directed to seek redress in small claims court.

That drew a sharply worded response last September from DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman, who said taking this position regarding the "over 130" referrals to Blanchard's office "could send a disturbing message that working people have no recourse regarding their wage claims," one that could have statewide implications. She added, "As you are probably aware, enforcement of wage claims has become one of the top priorities of workers and labor unions throughout Wisconsin."

If he wasn't aware of this before, Blanchard is now. Last week, the South Central Federation of Labor voted overwhelmingly not to make an endorsement in the district attorney's race. President Jim Cavanaugh says many members were troubled that Blanchard has stopped prosecuting wage claims "and has not offered a viable alternative to address those concerns."

Blanchard also got a scathing letter in late July from the Madison-based Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice. Calling the nonpayment of wages "one of the most common injustices facing Dane County's low-wage workers," the group suggested that Blanchard's reluctance to prosecute these cases signaled his belief "that it is acceptable to allow employers to take advantage of workers' labor without paying for it."

In a reply penned last Friday, Blanchard held his ground, saying his office lacks the resources to take on all but the most serious cases and telling the group "it is reckless to accuse me of insensitivity when you do not have all the facts."

Gassman's office says enforcement of wage claims remain a "top priority" and has urged DAs to seek help from their corporation counsels or the state Attorney General's office, staff permitting. Stix argues that the statute allows district attorneys to recover their fees, and has found a recent Brown County case where this occurred. "Therefore, wage claims should not deplete money from the county's budget but might very well put money into it."

But Blanchard tells Isthmus that wage claim disputes are "not typically cases where there is proof of intentional or systemic fraud," but rather "disputes between individual employers and individual employees over wages owed," often after an employer goes broke or belly up. He says they are more akin to landlord-tenant and consumer-merchant disputes than crimes. His office has not prosecuted any such cases during the last year, although it's currently weighing whether to take on the prosecution of an alleged "repeat offender."

Blanchard says "the easy route might be for me to suggest that this office can do everything." Instead, he's telling people "up front" his office lacks the resources to get involved so they can promptly file small claims actions "if there is any prospect of actually recovering anything."

He adds that, according to caseload counts, his office is already short more than eight attorneys, "by far the greatest need in the entire state." Worse, he says the county executive is proposing to cut his budget by $70,000. "Year by year, we are stuck trying to do more with less in a fast-growing county."