BOSTON- Senator Sal DiDomenico recently joined the Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Steve Tolman, representatives from Community Labor United, Greater Boston Labor Council, and the Massachusetts Building Trades Council, as well as workers from throughout the Commonwealth at a press conference in support of S.999/H.1033, An Act to prevent wage theft and promote employer accountability. DiDomenico is the Senate sponsor of this bill that seeks to prevent wage law violations by allowing the issuance of stop-work orders until wage violations are corrected and giving the Attorney General's Office the power to bring wage theft cases to court for civil damages.

Wage theft- the illegal practice of not paying employees for all of their work through means such as violating minimum wage laws, not paying overtime, or forcing workers to work off the clock- has become a pervasive problem throughout the Massachusetts economy and across the nation. Many workers who are by all definitions employees are often misclassified as “independent contractors,” thereby cheating them out of minimum or prevailing wages, and leaving them on the hook for medical costs if they are injured on the job.  Furthermore, employers may undermine legitimate businesses by avoiding taxes and not paying into critical safety nets for workers, putting an unfair burden on the Commonwealth when workers have a legitimate right to utilize these programs. As a result of wage theft, approximately $700 million is stolen from workers each year in Massachusetts.

Last year, DiDomenico’s bill passed the Senate on a near-unanimous vote. At the press conference, Senator DiDomenico told those in attendance that he would continue working to move this bill forward and called on them to continue fighting to secure final passage of the bill this legislative session. "Let's get this done this year, move forward and treat people fairly in this state and across the country," DiDomenico said.

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BOSTON- Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs, will be heading to Washington D.C. this week with his Senate colleagues and staff to gather information on the future of the federal budget and to advocate against potential spending cuts that will have a negative impact on the Commonwealth. The trip will take place from April 25-27th and he will be joined by Senator Linda Dorcena Forry (D-Boston), Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs, Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton), Senator Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield), Senator Joe Boncore (D-Winthrop) and Senator Julian Cyr (D-Truro).

The Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs was created with the mission of identifying federal funding opportunities for the Commonwealth and fostering a strong partnership between the Legislature and the federal government. Previously, the primary focus of this Committee was to identify ways in which the Commonwealth could maximize our federal resources by expanding our application to grants and other funding sources that benefit our constituents.

While this is still a priority for the Committee, in light of the new Administration’s budget and policy proposals, it appears that Massachusetts may be at risk of losing vital federal dollars that our state budget relies on. Massachusetts currently receives about $11 billion in federal revenue annually, accounting for approximately one quarter of the state’s budget. Under President Trump’s budget proposals, Massachusetts is at risk of losing between $1-2 billion dollars.

“These proposed cuts would devastate our state's budget and harm working families throughout the Commonwealth, which is why we are traveling to our Nation’s Capital to meet with our delegation, federal agencies, and national policy organizations to receive as much information as possible about how we can protect Massachusetts moving forward,” said Senator DiDomenico.

The group plans to meet with the members of Massachusetts' congressional delegation and has also set up meetings with federal officials in agencies including the Department of Transportation, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Office of Head Start. They have also organized meetings with the National Conference of State Legislatures and other national policy organizations.

“Massachusetts is very fortunate to have national leaders and great partners in our Congressional delegation, and we look forward to joining them as we put a state's perspective on these proposed cuts and policy changes,” said DiDomenico. “We will return home with knowledge that will help us as we finalize our own state budget, and make important policy decisions in the current legislative session.”

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Trump budget proposal eliminates funding for legal services 

BOSTON- Senate President Stan Rosenberg, Senator Sal DiDomenico and Senator Will Brownsberger have sent a letter to the Massachusetts Congressional delegation urging them to fight against the Trump Administration’s proposed elimination of funding for Legal Services.

Last year, 23,000 low-income and elderly people in Massachusetts got help at Legal Services with foreclosures and evictions, domestic violence, illegal debt collection, veterans’ benefits, homelessness, immigration, and more.  Even with the current resources allocated, the State was not able to meet the demand for legal aid.

“Eliminating funding for Legal Services is short sighted and disproportionately harms those who cannot afford legal counsel including veterans and the elderly,” said Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst).  “Massachusetts is not a place where we can make up the loss of federal funds.  Justice delayed is justice denied.”

“Legal Services Corporation has helped to ensure equity under the law for low and moderate income individuals throughout the nation for decades,” said Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett), Chairman on the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs. “If implemented, these cuts would strip protections for thousands of people in the Commonwealth, from victims of domestic violence to our veterans and senior citizens. With this proposal, the President has created an unprecedented danger for the future of our civil justice system.”

“Cuts to Legal Services will deny those most in need of access to our justice system and will have a profound impact on our state budget.  Legal Services funding should be a priority for all us who believe the values of taking care of our most vulnerable residents,” said Senator Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont) Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.

According to the letter, elimination of funding from the Federal government would result in a $5 million decrease in funding from $45 million budget.  This 11% cut would result in over 2,500 people losing access to legal aid.

The letter asks the members “to speak out, to stand up, and to hold everyone accountable who supports this unconscionable budget proposal.”  The Trump full budget proposal will be released in May and Congress will debate funding levels in the coming months. 

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