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Columbus, OH – New reporting last week revealed that Bernie Moreno destroyed key evidence a judge had ordered him to keep to avoid paying his employees the overtime they deserved. After forcing his employees to sue him to get the pay they were entitled to, Moreno was found liable by a jury for wage theft and was forced by the Court to pay over $400,000 in damages – only then did he settle over a dozen lawsuits before launching his Senate bid. 
 
FACT: Moreno shredded key records containing information about his employees’ overtime hours – evidence he was legally required to retain and that he agreed to provide the court – because he knew the documents would prove he owed his workers. Moreno was sanctioned by a judge for destroying evidence. Key points from Business Insider:

• “From the beginning, Moreno was required to preserve all documents relevant to the case, and he specifically agreed to do so in January 2020…”
• “But during a May 2021 deposition for one of those wage theft cases, Moreno conceded that in late 2020, he had destroyed paper copies of monthly reports containing information about overtime hours worked by some employees…”
• “…Moreno admitted in a deposition to shredding documents containing information that was potentially relevant to the case, despite being instructed to preserve records — drawing a rebuke from a state judge.”
• “[T]he judge in that case, Justice Michael Ricciuti, chose to sanction him for destroying potential evidence…”

FACT:A jury found Moreno liable for wage theft and forced him to pay more than $400,000 in damages to his employees. Moreno ultimately settled 13 additional similar lawsuits in 2023, just months before launching his second Senate bid. Key points from Business Insider:

• “Ultimately, a jury found in August 2022 that Adem and another salesperson who joined the lawsuit had proven ‘by a preponderance of the evidence’ that they had worked overtime hours, and that his employers knew that.”
• “The judge later ordered Moreno to pay out a total of $416,160, including compensation for the overtime hours worked, damages, and legal fees, in November. In January 2023, Moreno settled 14 of the 16 related lawsuits, court records show. Just 3 months later in April 2023, Moreno launched his comeback bid for US Senate.”

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Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno called for a government shutdown despite the devastating consequences it would have on Ohioans. Moreno opposed the bipartisan stopgap spending plan in September and called to shut down the federal government, which would have forced tens of thousands of Ohioans to work without pay. With additional funding deadlines looming, Ohioans should know Moreno is more focused on scoring political points than fighting for them. 
 
What you need to know about how a government shutdown would impact Ohioans:

• Ohio small businesses would lose an estimated $4,627,400 in financing per business day. 
   
• A shutdown would negatively impact the economy, Ohio workers, and Ohio families – an estimated 6,800 active duty troops in Ohio would not receive pay and tens of thousands of civilian employees would either be furloughed or forced to work without pay. 
   
• Many Ohio families, including more than 93,000 Ohio children, would also lose their access to healthy food. 
   
• Ohioans receiving Social Security could be at risk for disruptions. 

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Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan don’t understand the issues facing working Ohioans because they’ve been more focused on using their massive fortunes, sweetheart deals, and shady loans to try to buy Ohio’s Senate seat. It’s clear the entire field is wealthy, out-of-touch, and won’t fight for Ohioans because they don’t understand the issues most important to their daily lives.

• Bernie Moreno wrote himself a $3 million check after he said it’s “not right” for wealthy people to “write a big fat check” and that he wouldn’t “take [his] personal wealth and buy a Senate seat.” But a $3 million check is chump change for Moreno,who is worth over a hundred million dollars with properties in Costa Rica, New York City, Washington, D.C., and the Florida Keys worth up to $24.7 million.
   
• Frank LaRose loaned himself $250,000 after claiming to be a “thousandaire” and mocking his opponents for their wealth – raising questions about LaRose’s shady finances.  LaRose also refused to file his required financial disclosure until weeks past the deadline and has continued to dodge questions about the “highly unusual” and “myster[ious]” six-figure loan. Now, LaRose is being bankrolled by out-of-state billionaire Richard Uihlein – who also funded LaRose’s August amendment to silence Ohioans and benefit special interests. 
   
• Matt Dolan has already loaned his campaign $7 million this cycle and is worth as much as $41 million. Dolan faced backlash from his opponents for bankrolling his campaign with a cheap loan at a “staggeringly low” interest rate of less than one percent – an example of “some of the financial gateways available to wealthy politicians but closed to most of the constituents they represent.”

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On Reproductive Rights, Healthcare, Bipartisanship, and More, Tonight Ohioans Will See No One in the #OHSEN Field is Fighting for Them 

Columbus, OH –  Ahead of tonight’s Republican #OHSEN debate, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters, Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga, and Ohio Dr. Catherine Romanos discussed how none of the candidates in the primary are fighting for Ohioans. Whether it’s working to overrule Ohioans by supporting a national abortion ban, attacking Ohioans’ healthcare, or refusing to work across the aisle on the issues important to Ohioans’ lives, Ohioans see that Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan are more focused on attacking each other and helping themselves than working for Ohioans. 

“The digs and insults and scripted attacks are sure to come tonight, but there’s one thing Ohioans won’t hear: meaningful positions on the issues that matter most to them,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters. “While working Ohioans are worried about paying their bills, affording prescription medication, putting food on the table for their families, these candidates up on stage tonight are only focused on themselves.”

“From Bernie Moreno being sued over a dozen times for not paying his workers for the overtime they’ve earned, even destroying evidence in the process, to Frank LaRose who cast the deciding vote on Senate Bill 5 – that stripped firefighters, nurses, teachers and public employees of their collective bargaining rights – it’s clear these guys will not fight for workers in our state,” said Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga. “None of these candidates on the debate stage tonight will make Ohio workers their priority, and with control of the U.S. Senate likely coming down to Ohio, there’s too much at stake for workers in Ohio and across the nation for us to sit on the sidelines and let those who don’t share our values decide the future of working people in our country.” 

“Ohioans made it clear that they want the government out of their exam rooms and out of the most personal decisions of their lives,” said Dr. Catherine Romanos. “But Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan think they belong in your doctor’s office. All three opposed November’s State Issue 1 and they would all vote for a national abortion ban if elected to the Senate, which would overrule what the majority of Ohioans just supported.”

What you need to know ahead of tonight’s debate:

• Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan all support a national abortion ban and would overrule the majority of Ohioans who voted to protect reproductive rights and overturn the state’s existing ban last November. 

• Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan would all vote to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which would put 857,000 Ohioans at risk of losing their coverage and jeopardize care for nearly 2 million Ohioans with a preexisting condition. 

• The entire field is trying to buy Ohio’s Senate seat: Bernie Moreno wrote his campaign a $3 million check, Frank LaRose self-funded a “myster[ious]” $250,000 loan and has refused to answer questions about the source of the “highly unusual” loan, and Matt Dolan has already loaned himself $7 million this cycle. 

• The field won’t work across the aisle to prevent a potential government shutdown or fight for the issues most important to Ohioans’ daily lives: Bernie Moreno “reject[ed]” bipartisanship and has “no real interest in” working on behalf of Ohioans. Both Moreno and Frank LaRose would vote to shut down the government and force 6,800 active duty troops and tens of thousands of civilian employees in Ohio to work without pay. 

Please find a recording of this morning’s press call for media use here.

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Business Insider: Ohio Senate Candidate Shredded Documents As He Faced A Lawsuit Accusing Him Of Wage Theft

Columbus, OH – New reporting today from Business Insider reveals Bernie Moreno “destroyed” key evidence a judge had ordered him to keep to avoid paying his employees the overtime they deserved. After forcing his employees to sue him to get the pay they were entitled to, Moreno was found liable by a jury for wage theft and was forced by the Court to pay over $400,000 in damages – only then did he settle over a dozen lawsuits before launching his Senate bid. 

“Not only did Bernie Moreno spend years cheating his employees out of the overtime pay they had earned, he went so far as to shred key evidence he was required to keep to escape paying his employees for their work. Just as a judge and jury held him accountable for destroying key evidence and withholding his employees’ wages, Ohioans will see that Moreno is a slimy, dishonest conman who is only out for himself,” said ODP spokesperson Katie Smith.

Read more from Business Insider below:

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

Bryan Metzger

January 19, 2024

• Former car dealership owner turned GOP candidate Bernie Moreno […] settled over a dozen wage theft lawsuits in the months before launching his campaign last year, according to court documents reviewed by Business Insider.

• Those settlements came after a jury ordered Moreno to pay over $400,000 to two former employees at his Massachusetts dealership for failing to pay overtime in accordance with state labor laws.

• As he faced those lawsuits, Moreno admitted in a deposition to shredding documents containing information that was potentially relevant to the case, despite being instructed to preserve records — drawing a rebuke from a state judge.

• Moreno’s legal troubles began in 2017, when Omar Adem — a former salesperson at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Burlington, Massachusetts — filed a lawsuit alleging that Moreno had failed to pay him for overtime hours worked while he was employed at the dealership between February 2015 and July 2017.

• Yet by 2015, state law mandated that employers like Moreno pay salespeople for any time worked beyond the standard 40 hours per week, regardless of commissions.

• Moreno continued to litigate the case, even as that ruling appeared to open the floodgates for further lawsuits. 16 other former salespeople who had worked at the Massachusetts dealership from 2014 to 2018, all of whom were represented by the same lawyers as Adem, sued Moreno for wage theft beginning in March 2022.

• From the beginning, Moreno was required to preserve all documents relevant to the case, and he specifically agreed to do so in January 2020 as the Adem case progressed.

• But during a May 2021 deposition for one of those wage theft cases, Moreno conceded that in late 2020, he had destroyed paper copies of monthly reports containing information about overtime hours worked by some employees…

• [T]he judge in that case, Justice Michael Ricciuti, chose to sanction him for destroying potential evidence, arguing that the only proof that overtime records for salespeople never existed was Moreno’s own testimony.

• “This case turns on the parties’ credibility,” wrote Ricciuti. “Plaintiffs should not be forced to take Moreno’s word about the substance of these reports.”

• In sanctioning Moreno, Ricciuti ruled that the jury could use the fact of destroyed evidence when determining whether Adem and other employees were owed overtime pay.

• “Where negligently or intentionally, the Defendants lost or destroyed evidence that they were required to preserve and which they knew or should have known was relevant,” Justice Michael Ricciuti wrote in August 2022.

• Ultimately, a jury found in August 2022 that Adem and another salesperson who joined the lawsuit had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that they had worked overtime hours, and that his employers knew that.

• The judge later ordered Moreno to pay out a total of $416,160, including compensation for the overtime hours worked, damages, and legal fees, in November. In January 2023, Moreno settled 14 of the 16 related lawsuits, court records show. Just 3 months later in April 2023, Moreno launched his comeback bid for US Senate.

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