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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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Separate Fact Checks Have Found Moreno’s Excuses “False”

Columbus, OH – After a series of fact checks have found that Bernie Moreno’s excuses for destroying evidence and refusing to pay his employees overtime are “false,” Moreno again repeated the lies he knows aren’t true during a radio interview today.

Read Moreno’s lies and the facts below:

MORENO’S LIE: Moreno repeated his lie that the judge in the wage theft case against him was a “very upset, crazy, liberal judge.”

FACT CHECK: “The judge overseeing Moreno’s jury trial, Michael Ricciuti, was no liberal activist. He was a Republican-appointed jurist who also served as chief of the anti-terrorism and national security unit of the Boston US Attorney’s office under President George W. Bush.”

MORENO’S LIE: Moreno repeated his lie that the jury’s decision was “retroactive.” 

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.”

MORENO’S LIE: “I don’t believe any of [my employees] even actually worked overtime.”

FACT CHECK: “Ultimately, a jury found in August 2022 that [Moreno’s employees] who joined the lawsuit had proven ‘by a preponderance of the evidence’ that they had worked overtime hours, and that his employers knew that.”

One thing Moreno did get right: 

MORENO: “We destroyed lots of documents that of course we purged…”

FACT CHECK: True.

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Columbus, OH – This Valentines Day, the entire #OHSEN field has lots of love for overruling Ohioans by passing a national abortion ban, trying to buy themselves a Senate seat, and proving that they’re fighting for nobody but themselves. 

Take a sneak peek at the Valentines Day cards that Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan are receiving today: 

Bernie Moreno has faced ongoing scrutiny, attacks, and factchecks after reports found he shredded evidence to get out of paying his employees overtime wages they’d earned. Multiple factchecks have ruled his excuses “false.” 

Read more about how Frank LaRose failed to explain the “myster[ious]” and “highly unusual” six-figure loan he made to his campaign – despite previously claiming that he couldn’t bankroll his campaign and “mock[ing]” his opponents for their wealth. 

And none for Gretchen Weiners Matt Dolan! Sorry, Matt – Mommy and Daddy’s $2 million contribution to the PAC supporting your campaign is enough of a valentine for you this year. 

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Separate Fact Checks Have Found Moreno’s Excuses “False”

Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno has destroyed evidence to get out of paying his employees the overtime they earned, and a series of fact checks have confirmed his excuses are “false.” Here are five fast facts about the lawsuits Moreno faced and how he has lied about them:  

1. After being sued by his employees for withholding wages, Moreno destroyed key evidence he was legally required to keep.

2. Moreno was sanctioned by a judge for destroying key evidence to avoid paying his employees the overtime they had earned.

3. 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.
   
   
4. Moreno has blamed “liberal,” “activist,” “lunatic” judges for losing the jury trial in the case – which reports note “isn’t true.” In fact, the judge in Moreno’s case was a “Republican-appointed jurist who also served as chief of the anti-terrorism and national security unit of the Boston US Attorney’s office under President George W. Bush.”
   
   
5. Moreno also made “false claims” that a 2019 Massachusetts court decision “retroactively” required him to pay his employees overtime. A WKYC fact check showed Moreno was “required to pay [his employees] for overtime worked” beginning in 2015 and that “nothing new and unexpected was retroactively required of employers” after the decision.

Moreno’s multiple lies and refusal to answer legitimate questions about how far he went to avoid paying his employees makes it clear: Moreno doesn’t think the rules apply to him and Ohioans can’t trust him to look out for anyone but himself. 

SEE ALSO: 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

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WKYC: “We can verify that Moreno’s claims are false”

Columbus, OH – A new WKYC “Verify” report found that Bernie Moreno’s defense for refusing to pay his employees the overtime wages they had earned is “false” and that Moreno was “required to pay for overtime worked” beginning in 2015. 

When reports found Moreno destroyed evidence after he was sued for withholding his employees’ wages, Moreno falsely claimed a 2019 Massachusetts court decision “retroactively” required him to pay his employees overtime. Moreno has also blamed “liberal,” “activist,” “lunatic” judges for losing the jury trial in the case – which separate reports found “isn’t true.” 

“Once again, Bernie Moreno has been caught lying through his teeth about destroying evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying his employees the wages they earned,” said ODP spokesperson Katie Smith. “Moreno has made it clear that Ohioans can’t trust him and that he will only look out for himself.”

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

By Stephanie Haney

February 12, 2024 

• Republican candidate for an Ohio US Senate seat Bernie Moreno recently dismissed the outcome of a Massachusetts lawsuit that he lost related to overtime wage theft, by making false claims about the result.

• Moreno was sued in 2017 for failing to pay overtime wages to two car salespeople. This lawsuit was based on the 2015 Massachusetts state regulation 454 CMR 27.03(3).

• What that means is that the Massachusetts Department of Labor started requiring employers to pay workers separately for overtime hours, even if those employees earn commission. 

• While the 2017 lawsuit against Moreno was proceeding, a separate lawsuit was decided in 2019 by the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Moreno was not a part of this lawsuit, but before the lawsuit against him was decided, that court confirmed that employers must pay workers separately for overtime, even if those employees earn commission on sales, based on the 2015 state regulation.

• Based on all of this, we can verify that Moreno’s claims about the outcome of the lawsuit against him are false.

• …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, even for workers who earn commission on sales.

• To add additional context here, Moreno was sanctioned by the court in the lawsuit against him for destroying overtime records that he was ordered to keep while the case moved forward.

• Those records were destroyed in 2020, after the Massachusetts Supreme Court affirmed that workers who earn commission must be paid separately for overtime.

• As punishment for destroying those records, the judge instructed the jury members that they could assume that the destroyed evidence would have hurt Moreno’s defense.

• Moreno lost that lawsuit, and he was ultimately ordered to pay $416,160  to his former employees, after having been found liable for stolen overtime wages. He went on to settle more than a dozen similar lawsuits, before announcing his candidacy for Ohio’s US senate seat in 2023.

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