Uncategorized

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

###

Ohio Capital Journal: “All Ohio Republican U.S. Senate candidates opposed November amendment passed by 57% of Ohio voters that guaranteed rights to fertility treatment”

Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan already voted against  protections for IVF by opposing November’s Issue 1, which would have “protect[ed] access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments.” 

“Ohioans don’t have to guess where Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, or Matt Dolan stand on protecting fertility treatments like IVF – because they’ve already voted against it,” said ODP spokesperson Katie Smith. 

Here’s what you need to know:

Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan all opposed Issue 1 – which contained protections for in-vitro fertilization treatments – and now support overruling Ohioans by passing a national abortion ban.

• Bernie Moreno opposed Issue 1 and donated $100,000 to Protect Women Ohio – the group leading the campaign to defeat November’s Issue 1 last year.

• Frank LaRose made himself the face of Issue 1 in August – saying it was “100%” about defeating the November amendment. LaRose later colluded with out-of-state special interests to try to ban abortion by rewriting the Issue 1 November ballot language to be intentionally misleading. 

• Matt Dolan said defeating the Issue 1 amendment was a “priority.”

Read more:

Ohio Capital Journal: National and Ohio Republicans desperately pretending they haven’t been attacking IVF

Marilou Johanek

February 27, 2024

• Don’t believe a word. The same extremists lining up to support a federal abortion ban, that would override hard-earned reproductive freedoms in states like Ohio, are now tripping all over themselves to profess their support for IVF and personal choice.

• Just a few months ago, Frank LaRose, Bernie Moreno, and Matt Dolan aggressively opposed a statewide issue that established a constitutional right “to one’s own reproductive medical treatment,” including the freedom to make decisions on abortion, contraception, fertility treatments, continuing one’s own pregnancy and miscarriage care.

• LaRose spearheaded the campaign against access to reproductive choices that encompassed IVF.

• Multi-millionaire Moreno fought reproductive freedoms with six-figure donations to anti-abortion groups mobilized to defeat the right of Ohioans to make their own reproductive decisions.

• Matt Dolan disparaged the constitutionally protected freedoms Ohio voters decisively approved last November as too extreme — and then disparaged voters as being too dim to really understand what they were voting for. 

• Heading into the March 19 GOP primary, all three Republicans say they’re open to canceling the will of state voters to impose federal restrictions on abortion rights and reproductive health care.

• The party owns what Dobbs has wrought in pain and suffering. No matter what…a bunch of course-correcting senatorial candidates say after fighting to deny women their reproductive rights and reproductive choice — don’t believe a word.

###