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Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno has faced ongoing scrutiny and attacks after reports showed he destroyed evidence to get out of paying his employees overtime wages they’d earned. Multiple fact checks have found Moreno’s excuses for committing wage theft “false,” but Moreno keeps lying. 

Here are the facts:

• After being sued by his employees for withholding their wages, Bernie Moreno was forced to admit in a deposition that he destroyed key evidence he was legally required to keep. 

• Moreno was sanctioned by a judge for shredding documents to avoid paying his employees the overtime they earned. 

• Moreno was found liable by a jury for wage theft and was forced to pay over $400,000 in damages – only then did he settle over a dozen wage theft lawsuits before launching his Senate bid. 

• Moreno’s excuse that he lost the jury trial because of “liberal,” “activist,” “lunatic” judges “isn’t true.”

• Moreno made “false claims” that a 2019 Massachusetts court decision “retroactively” required him to pay his employees overtime. The truth is, “nothing new and unexpected was retroactively required of employers, in either court’s verdict. Once the 2015 state regulation went into effect, employers were required to pay for overtime worked.”

READ MORE:

• Business Insider: Trump-backed Ohio Senate candidate shredded documents as he faced a lawsuit accusing him of wage theft

• WCMH: Fact check: Did Senate candidate Bernie Moreno shred documents accusing him of wage theft?

• Mother Jones: A GOP Senate Candidate Blames “Liberal” Judges for His Labor Violations. Just One Problem With That.

• WKYC: No, Bernie Moreno’s claims that Massachusetts courts overturned federal law in wage theft lawsuits and made rulings retroactive are not true: VERIFY

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Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan would overrule Ohioans – who voted overwhelmingly last year to protect reproductive rights – by voting for a national abortion ban. Despite “previously celebrat[ing] the end of Roe v. Wade as a way to send abortion back to the states for voters to decide,” the entire field now says the issue requires federal intervention.

The entire #OHSEN field would overrule Ohioans by voting for a national abortion ban in the Senate:

• Bernie Moreno supports a national abortion ban and does not support exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. At his campaign launch, Bernie Moreno said he is “unapologetically pro-life.”

• Frank LaRose supports a national abortion ban, opposes exceptions for rape or incest, and admitted he colluded with out-of-state special interests to try to ban abortion by rewriting the November ballot language to be intentionally misleading.

• Matt Dolan said he would support a national abortion banandcelebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it “exciting.” 

• Cleveland.com: “One of the debate moderators…asked all three candidates if they view abortion as a federal issue and if so, why. All three said they did, and expressed interest in passing national abortion legislation…”

• WVXU: “And all three — Moreno, LaRose, and State Sen. Matt Dolan of Chagrin Falls — agreed there should be a national abortion ban… It makes you question whether the three GOP candidates were paying attention last November when 57% of Ohio voters who went to the polls voted in favor of a ballot issue enshrining abortion rights in the Ohio constitution.”

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Whether It’s Working To Overrule Ohioans Or Putting Themselves First, None of The Republicans In The #OHSEN Field Are Fighting For Ohioans 

Columbus, OH –  Ahead of tonight’s Republican #OHSEN debate, Ohio Federation of Teachers’ President and Ohio AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Melissa Cropper and Ohio State Representative and OBGYN Dr. Anita Somani discussed how none of the Republican #OHSEN candidates are fighting for Ohioans. 

Whether it’s working to overrule Ohioans by supporting a national abortion ban or putting their interests ahead of Ohio workers, Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan have made it clear they are more focused on helping themselves than working for Ohioans. 

“All of these out-of-touch millionaires have put themselves ahead of Ohio workers every chance they get – Bernie Moreno was even found liable for wage theft after shredding documents he was legally required to keep to get out of paying his workers the overtime they earned,” said Ohio Federation of Teachers’ President Melissa Cropper. “We can’t trust Moreno, LaRose, or Dolan to fight for Ohio workers because we’ve seen over and over again that they always put their own interests and corporate interests first and workers last.” 

“Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan have all said they would overrule Ohioans by voting for a national abortion ban in the Senate,” said Dr. Anita Somani, OBGYN and Ohio State Representative. “We protected reproductive rights last November and we have to do it again this November by defeating whichever candidate comes out of the primary next month.”  

Find a recording of the virtual press conference here for media use.

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Wilkinson: “Those Attacks Can Leave A Mark.”

Columbus, OH – On Friday, Howard Wilkinson of WVXU detailed Bernie Moreno’s history of wage theft after reports found that he destroyed evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying his employees the overtime they’d earned, along with Moreno’s support of a national abortion ban – which would overrule the majority of Ohioans who voted to protect reproductive rights. 

Moreno continues to be dogged by attacks from his opponents over his history of wage theft and multiple fact checks after repeating lies he knows aren’t true. 

Listen to Howard Wilkinson on WVXU here:

• 0:55: “…Those attacks can leave a mark…”

• 1:54: “Cleveland Television station WKYC and Mother Jones magazine, and others investigated Moreno’s claims, and came to the conclusion that he was falsely saying that the judges in the lawsuit were quote ‘liberal activist’ judges from Harvard and he was admonished by the court for destroying some of the employees’ work records. The judge in the jury trial was, in fact, a Republican judge who had worked in the US attorney’s office in Boston, under President George W. Bush.” 

• 2:31: “[Moreno] would, like the other two Senate candidates, vote for a national abortion ban after saying earlier they believed the 202[2] Dobbs decision left the matter of legalizing abortions up to the states – which Ohio voters did last fall, when they passed an abortion rights amendment last fall by an overwhelming margin.”

SEE ALSO: In Radio Interview, Moreno Repeats Lies He Knows Aren’t True About Wage Theft Lawsuits; 5 Facts About Moreno Destroying Evidence To Get Out Of Paying His Employees Overtime; FACT CHECK: Bernie Moreno’s Defense For Committing Wage Theft Ruled “FALSE”; MUST WATCH CLIP: Bernie Moreno’s Defense For Committing Wage Theft Ruled “FALSE”; New Report Finds Bernie Moreno’s Defense For Destroying Evidence Isn’t True; FACT CHECK: Bernie Moreno Destroyed Evidence He Had “Obligation” To Keep To Get Out Of Paying Employees; GOP Debate Clouded By Reports Moreno Destroyed Evidence: Here Are The Facts; Bernie Moreno Destroyed Key Evidence To Get Out Of Paying His Employees Wages They’d Earned

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Ironton Tribune: “If Moreno Truly Wants To Tackle The Border, Then Perhaps He Should Demonstrate A More Serious Approach, Rather Than Nonstop Opposition, Negative Campaigning And A Lack Of Workable Solutions.”  

Columbus, OH – The Ironton Tribune Editorial Board today slammed Bernie Moreno for opposing the bipartisan border security bill – telling Moreno to “demonstrate a more serious approach” instead of “nonstop opposition” and “a lack of workable solutions” that would only “worsen [the] problem.” 

Moreno has faced particular scrutiny for opposing the bipartisan border security bill – which was backed by border patrol agents, called “the most conservative border bill in decades,” and included the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, “key legislation” with bipartisan support to combat the opioid crisis in Ohio. 

Read more:  

Ironton Tribune: EDITORIAL: Moreno not constructive on immigration bill

Editorial Board

February 17, 2024

• Businessman Bernie Moreno topped the knee-jerk statements of opposition in announcing that he opposed the legislation, before the full text of the bill even came out.  Moreno has also called the legislation “an abomination,” “370 pages of garbage” and “a total and complete disgrace.”   

• This is a rather blanket dismissal of a package that includes key legislation that a bipartisan group has advocated for to help combat the opioid crisis that has plagued Ohio these past several years.  

• The FEND Off Fentanyl Act, included in the legislation, is a package of sanctions and anti-money laundering laws which would target illegal fentanyl suppliers in China who transport the drug into the U.S. via Mexico.  

• The epidemic has impacted nearly everyone in the state (and especially here in Lawrence County) – with most people knowing a family member, friend or associate who has fought addiction.   

• Does Moreno include these measures, crafted, in part by his fellow Republican Tim Scott, to be the “garbage” he claimed the bill was composed of?  

• Moreno has shown that he has little interest in any bipartisanship, stating he has no interest in working with the other party, if elected.  

•  If Moreno truly wants to tackle the border, then perhaps he should demonstrate a more serious approach, rather than nonstop opposition, negative campaigning and a lack of workable solutions.  

• Moreno’s approach to this legislation bodes ill for any hope that he would do anything but worsen that problem on any issue, should he get into office.

SEE ALSO:  WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING: Bernie Moreno Under Fire For Opposing Bipartisan Border Bill, Mobile Billboard Highlights Moreno’s Opposition to Border Security Bill, Reminder: As Senate Votes On Border Bill Today, Moreno Is AGAINST Securing The Border; National Border Patrol Council Leader Praises Border Bill, But Moreno Is AGAINST It; Bernie Moreno is AGAINST Strengthening the Border, Don’t Let Him Tell You Otherwise

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