Uncategorized

Moreno’s Comments Follow Alabama Supreme Court Ruling That Prompted Clinics To Pause IVF Treatments

Columbus, OH – After voting against and writing a $100,000 check to defeat Issue 1 – which “clearly” included protections for IVF – Bernie Moreno doubled down this week and called fertility protections a “non-issue” while opposing federal protections for IVF, claiming they are  “unnecessary.” His comments come the week after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that prompted clinics to pause IVF treatments. Moreno also supports a national abortion ban, which would overrule the majority of Ohioans who voted to protect abortion access. 

Read more from Ohio Capital Journal: 

• Republican candidates, including Moreno, have insisted they won’t let the 2024 election become another referendum on abortion rights, but Republicans themselves keep frustrating that effort. From former president Donald Trump taking credit for the repeal of Roe v. Wade, to all three of Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate candidates signing on to federal abortion restrictions, to an Alabama Supreme Court ruling threatening access to in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, reproductive policy can’t seem to stay on the back burner.

• Still, Moreno brushed off threats to IVF as “a manufactured issue” and despite backing a federal 15-week abortion ban, he argued similar protections for IVF are unnecessary.

• “This is a non-issue,” Moreno insisted.

• At the time of publishing, three fertility clinics in Alabama have halted IVF procedures. Alabama state lawmakers have begun hearings for a handful of bills protecting the treatment but their timeline is uncertain. Federal IVF protections were blocked Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-MS. 

SEE ALSO: As Senate Votes On IVF Protections, Ohioans Should Know Moreno, LaRose, Dolan Already Voted Against Protections For Fertility Treatments; REMINDER: Moreno, LaRose, Dolan Already Voted Against Protections For IVF; Moreno, LaRose and Dolan Oppose Protecting Access to IVF

###

Following Reports That Moreno Stole Wages From His Employees & Destroyed Evidence, Moreno Opposed The Existence Of The Minimum Wage

Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno continues to face scrutiny over his record of wage theft as “numerous reports” continue to bring the image Moreno is trying to present to voters “in question.” While Moreno faces attacks over his record of refusing to pay his employees the overtime they earned and shredding evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of it, he’s also said he doesn’t believe the minimum wage should exist at all.

Read more:

Tribune Chronicle: Moreno’s business dealings targeted

David Skolnick

March 1, 2024

• During the campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. senator, Bernie Moreno has touted his record of creating jobs and his business success.

• But there are numerous reports that put [Moreno’s] business dealings as a luxury car dealer and blockchain business owner in question. 

• Moreno settled numerous wage theft lawsuits after a jury in Massachusetts ordered him to pay more than $400,000 to two former employees for failing to pay overtime in violation of state labor laws.

• Moreno admitted in a deposition to shredding documents containing information that was potentially relevant to the case despite being told to preserve them, according to Business Insider.

• Moreno also faced discrimination lawsuits in Cleveland that were settled out of court.

• Dolan said it’s a question of “trust” about Moreno. “Here’s an example in Bernie’s past where he had a chance to stand up and do the fair, right thing for his employees,” Dolan said. “But he chose to do the right thing for Bernie Moreno, and he got sanctioned for it.”

• LaRose said: “Mr. Moreno has had a problem not even paying people the wages that they’ve earned in his business and had to settle a lawsuit as a result of that.”

• In response to the minimum-wage questions, Moreno said: “The markets are the best way to determine what wages should be. The reality is somebody who’s employed thousands of people here in Ohio, a good business owner knows that you pay good benefits, you pay good wages to get good people. At the end of the day, the market will flush that out and make certain that you get workers that get a good job…”

SEE ALSO: Moreno Doubles Down: Doesn’t Believe There Should Be A Minimum Wage; NEW: Bernie Moreno Opposes Existence Of Minimum Wage; ICYMI: Scrutiny on Lawsuits Clouds Bernie Moreno’s Record; NEW: Yet Another Lawsuit Clouds Bernie Moreno’s Record; FACT CHECK: Bernie Moreno’s Defense For Committing Wage Theft Ruled “FALSE”; WATCH: Bernie Moreno Faces Scrutiny For Destroying Evidence To Get Out Of Paying His Employees Overtime; New Report Finds Bernie Moreno’s Defense For Destroying Evidence Isn’t True; Bernie Moreno Facing Further Attacks After Reports Show He Shredded Documents To Get Out Of Paying His Employees Overtime; 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

###

Howard Wilkinson: “[The Republican] Senate nominee, whoever that might be, opposed a reproductive rights amendment passed by 57% of Ohio voters”

Columbus, OH – As the Senate votes today on a bill to provide federal protections for IVF, Howard Wilkinson yesterday reminded Ohioans that Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan have already voted against protections for IVF by opposing November’s Issue 1, which “clearly” included protections for fertility treatments. As noted by Wilkinson, no matter who emerges from this primary, Ohioans will know they “opposed a reproductive rights amendment passed by 57% of Ohio voters.”

WVXU: Analysis: Ohio GOP Senate candidates see no contradiction in supporting IVF, opposing Issue 1

Howard Wilkinson

February 27, 2024

• Ohio’s three Republican U.S. Senate candidates in the March 19 primary election — Frank LaRose, Bernie Moreno and Matt Dolan — don’t have to be told twice when they get marching orders from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. When McConnell says jump, their only question is “how high?”

• Dolan, LaRose and Moreno didn’t let any moss grow under their feet, quickly issuing statements saying they support, completely and without reservation, IVF as a means of fertility treatment. Democrats and others, though, pointed out, correctly, that all three opposed Issue 1 last fall — the reproductive rights amendment that was passed overwhelmingly by Ohio voters.

• That amendment says clearly that any Ohioan is allowed to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including, but not limited to” decisions about abortion, contraception, miscarriage care, and fertility treatment. 

• Regardless, Mitch McConnell was able, in short order, to get his Senate candidates on the right side of IVF. But there is no way for McConnell to fix this: His Senate nominee, whoever that might be, opposed a reproductive rights amendment passed by 57% of Ohio voters.

###

Columbus, OH – After Bernie Moreno said he doesn’t believe there should be a minimum wage  on the debate stage last week, Moreno doubled down to Cleveland.com. When asked whether he opposes the minimum wage, Moreno “did not clarify” his stance. 

Read more: 

Cleveland.com: Ohio Senate race: Where do the Republican candidates stand on minimum wage hike?

Andrew Tobias

February 27, 2024

• During a televised candidate forum last week…Bernie Moreno [was] asked about the minimum wage and whether they thought there even should be a minimum wage.

• Moreno said that “markets are the best way to determine what a wage should be,” adding that employers can choose to offer good wages and benefits to get good workers.

• “And at the end of the day, the markets will flush that out…”

• Moreno did not clarify afterward whether he was making a political argument against the merits of minimum wage laws in general. 

SEE ALSO: NEW: Bernie Moreno Opposes Existence Of Minimum Wage

###

Series Of Fact Checks Found Moreno’s Excuses “False”

Columbus, OH – Despite multiple fact checks finding Bernie Moreno’s excuses “false” after reports showed he destroyed evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying his employees the overtime they’d earned, Moreno is still repeating lies he knows aren’t true. 

Moreno’s lies follow another lawsuit surfacing against him last week – further complicating the image he is trying to sell Ohioans.

Read Moreno’s lies, and the facts, for yourself:

MORENO’S LIE: “…a regulation change…made the ruling retroactive.” [WOSU, 15:11, 2/26/24]

FACT CHECK: “[N]othing 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, even for workers who earn commission on sales.” [WKYC, 2/12/24]

MORENO’S LIE: “We didn’t have any records that showed that [my employees] worked overtime…” [WOSU, 15:50, 2/26/24]

FACT CHECK: “Moreno conceded that in late 2020, he had destroyed paper copies of monthly reports containing information about overtime hours worked by some employees…a jury found in August 2022 that [Moreno’s employees] had proven ‘by a preponderance of the evidence’ that they had worked overtime hours, and that his employers knew that.” [Business Insider, 1/19/24]

Refresh your memory on the lawsuits and lies clouding Bernie Moreno’s candidacy:

• Business Insider: Trump-backed Ohio Senate candidate shredded documents as he faced a lawsuit 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

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

• Daily Beast: This GOP Senate Hopeful’s Self-Made Story Has a Darker Side

SEE ALSO: ICYMI: Scrutiny on Lawsuits Clouds Bernie Moreno’s Record; NEW: Yet Another Lawsuit Clouds Bernie Moreno’s Record; In Radio Interview, Moreno Repeats Lies He Knows Aren’t True About Wage Theft Lawsuits; 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”; WATCH: Bernie Moreno Faces Scrutiny For Destroying Evidence To Get Out Of Paying His Employees Overtime; New Report Finds Bernie Moreno’s Defense For Destroying Evidence Isn’t True; Bernie Moreno Facing Further Attacks After Reports Show He Shredded Documents To Get Out Of Paying His Employees Overtime; Bernie Moreno Dogged By Reports That He Shredded Evidence To Get Out Of Paying His Employees Overtime; 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

###