Media Coverage of SB-80 – 2007 Legislation:
http://www.channel3000.com/news/11607953/detail.html
Bill To Regulate Traveling Sales Crews Considered At Capitol
Bill Would Improve Working Conditions For Employees
POSTED:
MADISON, Wis. -- Some Wisconsin lawmakers are pushing for regulations on traveling sales crews that they say exploit young people with poor working conditions.
But critics said the regulations would drive legitimate
sales businesses out of
Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Middleton said his bill will improve working conditions for employees and protect consumers targeted by crews who travel from town to town selling everything from knives to encyclopedias.
The plan is the latest attempt to regulate the industry
after a March 1999 crash near
A public hearing on the bill was held at the Capitol on Tuesday. Students who've worked with Southwestern Company came to the hearing to share their experiences.
Guy Spicer and his daughter Kristen Rae said they were lied
to by a Southwestern recruiter who came to their
"I feel like my parental rights were robbed when I was lied to across that table," Spicer said.
Kristen Rae spent the summer of 2005 selling door-to-door in
"My hair was falling out; I lost about 15 pounds, which is a lot of weight for me to lose," Rae said. "My menstrual cycle was whacked, which they actually told us beforehand that that would be normal, (saying), 'Don't worry about it; it's OK.'"
But
Barmann said she enjoyed the experience so much that she now has a job as a recruiter with the company. Barmann said she is concerned that the bill would hurt Southwestern in an attempt to regulate fly-by-night traveling sales crews.
The main part of the bill would force direct sales companies to treat young people as employees instead of independent contractors as they are now.
Previous Stories:
Copyright 2007 by Channel 3000. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/10/ap3599977.html
Associated Press
forbes.com
Bill Would Regulate Traveling Sales Work
By RYAN J. FOLEY 04.10.07,
Recalling a 1999 crash that killed seven in
But opponents of the bill said the regulations would be the
toughest in the country, drive legitimate sales businesses out of
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said his bill was meant to improve working conditions for employees and protect consumers targeted by roving crews who travel from town to town selling everything from knives to encyclopedias.
One student flew to
Kristen Rae Spicer, 21, said she worked more than 80 hours per week, totaled her car and was raped by a co-worker. She said she did not make any money and suffered anguish from the rape and what she called company "brainwashing."
"They say the job is not for everyone," she said. "And I'll just say it's not for anyone because it's unhealthy, because it breaks labor laws, because it's breaking the rights of students to know what the job requirements are."
But other students said they had great experiences working
for the company, and three
The plan is the latest attempt to regulate the industry
after a March 1999 crash near
The speeding van filled with 14 people crashed after the
unlicensed driver tried to switch seats with another passenger after spotting a
police car. The father of one victim, Phil Ellenbecker of
Critics say the companies mislead young people into signing up for work outside of their home states, pay them little and force them to work more than 80 hours a week while living in cramped spaces.
Erpenbach's bill passed in the Senate last year but died in the Assembly after Nashville, Tenn.-based Southwestern said it would harm its business.
The bill would require the companies to hire their sales crews as employees rather than independent contractors who aren't subject to labor laws.
Companies that employ crews, defined as two or more people, would have to give the state information on its owners, its sales activities and the vehicles it will use.
The companies would have to post a $10,000 bond and tell potential workers in writing where they will work and what they will be paid.
Dean Heyl, a lobbyist for the Direct Selling Association, said the bill would unfairly target independent contractors who work for its members, which include Southwestern, Mary Kay and Pampered Chef, and do little to stop abuses by "bad actors."
He said many workers like being independent contractors because they can choose how they sell products and run the businesses themselves.
Katie Barmann, who worked for
Southwestern while a UW-Madison student and is now its recruiter in
Southwestern has proposed amending the bill to exempt it from the regulations.
Erpenbach urged lawmakers not to change the bill, saying the amendment would create a loophole that would render it meaningless.
State agencies who enforce consumer protection and labor laws also called for quick action without amendment.
"The bottom line is that this industry must be curtailed and it must be cleaned up," said JoAnna Richard, deputy secretary of the Department of Workforce Development.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
http://www.wrn.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=DDA9BC67-0296-4BAF-73485BE032F4BBA1
Lawmakers consider new guidelines for sales crews
By Andrew Beckett
A proposal to regulate traveling sales crews operating in
Industry officials say the bill unfairly targets legitimate operations. Dean Heyl, an attorney for the door-to-door sales company Southwestern, says it would have little impact on the crews that already ignore the law. He says those companies already avoid law enforcement when they illegally start selling in a given area. Heyl says the industry would like the bill amended to exempt companies who follow current laws.
During a legislative hearing on the bill Tuesday, lawmakers heard from Kristen Ray Spicer. She worked for a Southwestern crew in 2005 under the promise of earning a big paycheck. But at the end of the summer, she says she ended up owing the company $150 and walked away with nothing. She also says the company made her crew work over 80 hours a week, limited contact with her parents, and did very little after a co-worker allegedly raped her. Erpenbach says the bill would keep student workers like Spicer from being taken advantage of.
The legislation was inspired by a 1999 van crash near
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3
http://www.nbc15.com/news/headlines/6960552.html
Testimony Heard on Traveling Sales Crew Bill
Reporter: Brock Bergey
Email Address: bbergey@nbc15.com
Traveling Sales Crew Bill
The pitch for traveling sales jobs is appealing--travel the country and make money. But, a Middleton lawmaker says the students are being taken advantage of.
"They say the job is not for everyone and I say it's not for anyone," says Kristen Rae Spicer.
On Tuesday, Kristen Rae and her father traveled all the way
from
"There was nothing written for me (like) this is where you're going to be living, this is what's required of you, this is what you're going to get paid," says Kristen Rae.
In the summer of 2005, the then 18-year-old,
went door-to-door selling educational books in
"When she came back after that summer she was a shell of a person," says Guy Spicer, Kristen Rae's father.
State Senator Jon Erpenbach of Middleton says that's not uncommon.
The Democrat's interest stems from a 1999 crash in
"This bill is named after Melinda Turvey, one of the victims of the crash," says Erpenbach.
The bill would make it illegal for traveling sales companies to hire minors. It would require an employer disclosure statement. And, it would prohibit the use of independent contractors.
"If the independent contractor status was taken away from the students who did this, this would go from running your own business to a sales job," says college recruiter Katie Barmann, a UW graduate.
But Erpenbach disagrees. He says the companies go with independent contractors to avoid possible legal problems.
"Any company in this state, working in this state, recruiting in this state, would easily be able to abide by this legislation," he says.
As for Kristen Rae, she's moving on. But, there's one part of her summer job experience she'll never forget.
"On
Kristen Rae says a simple background check, which is also included in the bill, may have kept her safe.
A spokesperson for the one company at Tuesdays' hearing says her organization is "very up front about everything the job entails."
More than 30-people testified. No action was taken.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=589736
Bill would regulate traveling sales crews
Measure named for teen killed in 1999 van crash
By STACY FORSTER
sforster@journalsentinel.com
Posted:
And he's put his heart into passing legislation to regulate the traveling sales crew industry.
Ellenbecker, of
"There's nothing good about them," Ellenbecker said of traveling sales crews. With the bill, "we kill two birds with one stone, we keep the bad guys out and we regulate the industry."
The measure drew objections from those who have worked for
Southwestern Company, based in
Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee), the committee chairman, said Ellenbecker's efforts are driving sentiment for the bill.
"He wants some vindication for the death of his daughter, and this bill is a representation of that," Coggs said. He said he expects the bill will pass his committee.
Under the bill, traveling sales crews would be defined as two or more people who travel together and live away from their permanent residences while selling.
Companies looking to employ such groups of sellers would need to register and be certified by the state Department of Workforce Development. The bill would also set some workplace standards for the industry, such as requiring semi-monthly paychecks and putting limits on work hours.
"It will allow us to know who exactly is selling here, and who is recruiting here," said bill author Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton). "They should know exactly what they're getting into, and employers should take responsibility."
Some have concerns
Rep. Terry Moulton (
"I'm concerned that it seems to create a huge bureaucratic jungle that might make it difficult for some reputable companies to sell door to door," Moulton said.
A similar bill passed the Senate last session, but got stuck in an Assembly committee because of objections from Southwestern.
The committee didn't hear from any representatives of the companies that Erpenbach and Ellenbecker said were being targeted by the bill. A legitimate company such as Southwestern should be able to meet the requirements, Erpenbach said.
Katie Barmann, a district sales manager for Southwestern, told the committee the way the company recruits and manages its student workers is far different from what the traveling sales crews do. For example, she said, parents must sign a form saying the student has permission to participate in the program, and the sellers must register in municipalities where they plan to go door to door.
About two dozen current and former independent contractors for Southwestern appeared in opposition to the bill, saying they didn't mind working 80 hours a week while running their own businesses.
Jessie Satran, a 21-year-old junior from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said the law could require Southwestern to lose one of its most attractive points - allowing students to run their own businesses as independent contractors.
"Not having that be a part of the program would turn a lot of those people away, like me," Satran said.
But Kristen Rae Spicer, a student at the
"It's unhealthy, it's breaking labor laws," she said.
http://www.gazetteextra.com/edit_salescrews032507.asp
Don't cave in to lobbyists for sales crews
GazetteXtra
(Published
Every spring, they assemble like flocks of migrating birds. Traveling sales crews, often pitching magazines or cleaning products door to door, travel the country while using teens and young adults as sellers.
Many young people see such jobs as a way to break free of parental control and travel the country. Too often, these people are exploited by unscrupulous managers who offer meager pay and poor living conditions or leave them stranded.
Sometimes, employees fall victim to sexual assault. Occasionally, their dreams of high adventure end even more tragically.
The night of
Phil Ellenbecker of
Last year, a bill sailed through the state Senate but stalled in the Assembly because of industry lobbying efforts. Legislators must make sure that doesn't happen again.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, has reintroduced his legislation as Senate Bill 80.
It would require sales companies to register with the state and post bonds. It would require that the companies spell out to sales recruits in writing the places of employment, compensation and type of work and require that crews be paid at least twice a month. The bill also would limit times of day when crews can work.
"Traveling sales crews often abuse state and federal labor laws, holding wages and keeping overworked employees from contacting their families," Erpenbach says. "These protections will create important work standards to protect vulnerable members of traveling sales crews but also consumers and homeowners."
Lawmakers must get this bill moving. Let's not wait for another tragedy.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=128899&ntpid=2
Traveling sales crew safeguards urged
Bill would regulate working conditions for traveling sales crews
By Ryan J. Foley
Associated Press
Published:
Recalling a 1999 crash that killed seven in
But opponents of the bill said the regulations would be the
toughest in the country, drive legitimate sales businesses out of
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said his bill was meant to improve working conditions for employees and protect consumers targeted by roving crews who travel from town to town selling everything from knives to encyclopedias.
One student flew to
Kristen Rae Spicer, 21, said she worked more than 80 hours per week, totaled her car and was raped by a co-worker. She said she did not make any money and suffered anguish from the rape and what she called company "brainwashing."
"They say the job is not for everyone," she said. "And I'll just say it's not for anyone because it's unhealthy, because it breaks labor laws, because it's breaking the rights of students to know what the job requirements are."
But other students said they had great experiences working
for the company, and three
The plan is the latest attempt to regulate the industry
after a March 1999 crash near
The speeding van filled with 14 people crashed after the
unlicensed driver tried to switch seats with another passenger after spotting a
police car. The father of one victim, Phil Ellenbecker of
Critics say the companies mislead young people into signing up for work outside of their home states, pay them little and force them to work more than 80 hours a week while living in cramped spaces.
Erpenbach's bill passed in the Senate last year but died in the Assembly after Nashville, Tenn.-based Southwestern said it would harm its business.
The bill would require the companies to hire their sales crews as employees rather than independent contractors who aren't subject to labor laws.
Companies that employ crews, defined as two or more people, would have to give the state information on its owners, its sales activities and the vehicles it will use.
The companies would have to post a $10,000 bond and tell potential workers in writing where they will work and what they will be paid.
Dean Heyl, a lobbyist for the Direct Selling Association, said the bill would unfairly target independent contractors who work for its members, which include Southwestern, Mary Kay and Pampered Chef, and do little to stop abuses by "bad actors."
He said many workers like being independent contractors because they can choose how they sell products and run the businesses themselves.
Katie Barmann, who worked for
Southwestern while a UW-Madison student and is now its recruiter in
Southwestern has proposed amending the bill to exempt it
from the regulations. A message left after business hours at
Erpenbach urged lawmakers not to change the bill, saying the amendment would create a loophole that would render it meaningless.
State agencies who enforce consumer protection and labor laws also called for quick action without amendment.
"The bottom line is that this industry must be curtailed and it must be cleaned up," said JoAnna Richard, deputy secretary of the Department of Workforce Development.
Published:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=596082
Casino bill passes Assembly; Senate backs sales crew measure
By STACY FORSTER
sforster@journalsentinel.com
Posted:
More Coverage
Section: Coverage of state politics and government
Capitol Podcast:
Weblog: Latest news and notes in All Politics Watch
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Buy a link hereMeantime, the
Senate passed a measure that would introduce regulations of companies that want
to employ traveling sales crews to work in
However, prospects for each bill are in question in the opposite house.
The Assembly bill regarding legislative oversight of gaming
facilities passed on a 57-38 vote. It comes amid efforts by
The governor alone now has the power to approve proposals for new casinos once they clear the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Bill author Rep. Robin Vos
(R-Racine) said
"This has nothing to do with any one casino," Vos said.
The bill doesn't address how the process would work but instead the Legislature would be "opening a Pandora's box" of special interest money from supporters or opponents of particular casinos, said Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison).
Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a similar measure last year, and Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson (D-Beloit) said she doesn't intend to schedule a vote on the bill.
"While the bill does have some merits, it's a stretch to think that adding 132 legislators into the mix will do anything to take the politics out of casino gaming," Robson said in a statement.
The traveling sales crew measure passed the Senate 28-5.
Efforts to pass the bill stem from a 1999
The bill would require crews to register with the state Department of Workforce Development, among other rules.
Currently, "the companies don't have to take any responsibility for the kids that they hire," said bill author Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton).
Senators rejected an amendment from Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) that would have exempted what he called "more responsible" sales crews.
He was responding to testimony offered at a committee
hearing from students who had spent summers selling books for The Southwestern
Company of
Rep. Terry Moulton (
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=130968&ntpid=2
Traveling sales crew bill passes Senate
By Ryan J. Foley
Associated Press
The state Senate voted Tuesday to impose regulations on traveling sales crews that would be among the toughest in the nation, aiming to improve working conditions for young people who spend summers trying to make door-to-door sales.
The bill, approved 28-5, would require companies that employ the crews who sell everything from knives to encyclopedias to register with the state and tell workers in writing where they will work and what they will be paid.
The legislation written by Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, also would require companies to hire sales personnel as employees rather than independent contractors who aren't subject to labor laws. It would add regulations on work hours and pay.
The bill is far from becoming law. The Assembly hasn't decided how to proceed, said Bob Delaporte, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem. Gov. Jim Doyle hasn't reviewed the legislation but has supported similar regulations in the past, spokesman Matt Canter said.
Opponents say the regulations would drive legitimate sales
businesses out of
But bill supporters say the companies mislead young people into signing up for work outside of their home states, pay them infrequently and force them to work more than 80 hours a week.
Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, said the legislation was designed to prevent tragedies such as a March 1999 crash on Interstate 90/39 near Janesville that killed seven members of a traveling magazine sales crew and injured five.
The speeding van filled with 14 people crashed after the
unlicensed driver tried to switch seats with another passenger after spotting a
police car. The father of one victim, Phil Ellenbecker of
A similar bill passed the Senate last year but died in the Assembly after Nashville, Tenn.-based Southwestern Co., which hires college students to sell educational materials during their summers, said the regulations would harm its business.
The Senate voted 19-13 on Tuesday to reject an amendment by Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, that would have exempted companies such as Southwestern from the regulations.
Erpenbach said the amendment would have created a loophole for companies to exploit.
"This is not about one company," Erpenbach said.
"This is about an industry that's totally unregulated in the state of
Published:
http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=22&date=4/18/2007&id=22233
By Stacy Forster
Traveling sales crew bill advances
The Senate's Committee on Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs
approved the bill on a
The bill, SB 80, is also known as "Malinda's Law;"
it is named after Malinda Turvey, who was 18 when she was among seven magazine
salespeople who died in a
The Southwestern Company, which employs college students as independent contractors to sell books over summer break, had asked for an exception to the legislation, but the bill was not amended to exempt Southwestern or any company.
http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/sen27/news/press/2007/col2007-003.asp
A Column By State Senator Jon Erpenbach
Traveling Sales Crew Bill Will Protect Young People
It has been eight years since the tragic and senseless
accident on I-90 near
The crew chief driving the van at the time of the fatal accident did not have a valid driver’s license. As he attempted to switch seats with another passenger while racing at 90 miles per hour to avoid the law, the van swerved out of control and crashed.
The magnitude of this tragedy remains incalculable and many of our hearts remain heavy.
Working closely with Phil Ellenbecker, the father of
Our bill was stopped last session by the State Assembly, but with a January change of leadership in the State Senate and a change of Assembly Speaker, we are hopeful our bipartisan bill will pass.
Businesses operating traveling sales crews consistently ignore city, state and federal laws, exploiting a legal loophole that allows them to put both the young members of their crews, as well as the public, at serious potential risk.
While operating in
The businesses hiring these magazine traveling sales crews call their employees “independent contractors” and label their summer of selling door-to-door an “internship.” But that it is a means allowing them to manipulate young people into jobs walking door to door all summer long – and many times with their paychecks withheld for weeks at a time.
Company policies usually require the sales crews to work out
of state, isolating them from friends and family. Their shifts on the streets
can be six-days-a-week from
There is no reasonable reason to characterize the young people working for these companies as anything but employees. Classifying them as “independent contractors” is simply a means for these companies to engage in legalized indentured servitude.
Our traveling sales crew legislation, often called
“Malinda’s Law” will stop this by requiring sales crews in
We would also set up reasonable workplace standards for crew members such as requirement of semi-monthly paychecks, work hour limits and more comprehensive disclosure of work responsibilities.
Our bill will not only protect vulnerable members of traveling sales crews, but also consumers and homeowners. In numerous states, consumers have not received the products they agreed to buy from these door-to-door sales crews.
More seriously, in
The momentum to pass this bill is on our side. The more the
public hears about the abuses perpetrated by these companies, the louder are
the voices for reform. On a personal note, Phil Ellenbecker is owed a debt of
gratitude by the people of
For the victims and their families and for the people of
State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) is serving his third term in the legislature and is the Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
As always, you can reach my office by calling 608-266-6670 or e-mail me at Sen.Erpenbach@legis.wi.gov.
Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) is serving in his third term in the state Senate is the chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
http://www.nclnet.org/news/2007/traveling_crews02212007.htm
releases & advisories
NCL news
Twenty Years of Congressional Inaction:
Magazine Sales Crews
Timeline of Shame: Congress Fails to Act on Abusive Industry
Release Date:
Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In reaction to the in-depth New York Times piece published today about the inherently exploitative industry of traveling youth sales (“For Youths, a Grim Tour on Magazine Crews,” NYTimes, 2.21.2007), the National Consumers League and the Child Labor Coalition call upon Congress to act and not abandon thousands of teenagers and young adults who are abused and cheated by the traveling magazine sales industry.
As the piece’s author Ian Urbina points out: “More than two decades after a Senate investigation revealed widespread problems with these itinerant sellers, and despite several highly publicized fatal accidents and violent crimes involving the sales crews in recent years, the industry remains almost entirely unregulated. And while the industry says it has changed, advocates and law enforcement officials say the abuses persist.”
The abuses do persist, and NCL and CLC are encouraged by the attention given due to the NY Times piece but remain discouraged by a lack of action by Congress to improve the desperate situation.
“Why hasn’t Congress acted,” asks Darlene Adkins, NCL vice president and CLC coordinator. “There’s been legislation introduced year after year that addresses this problem and the reaction has been disinterest and a shrug.”
Two decades ago, in 1987, a Congressional investigation of the magazine sales industry uncovered a track record of abuse, fraud, and indentured servitude involving its often teenage or young adult salespersons. Nothing came of it.
In the 20 years since, the Young American Workers Bill of Rights (in 2003 renamed as Youth Worker Protection Act) has been introduced in Congress nine times (in Congresses 101-109). The lead sponsor Rep. Tom Lantos (D_CA) of the bill, Lantos revised the nation’s child labor laws to include a prohibition on minors under the age of 16 from working in door-to-door sales. This bill has never made it to the floor for a vote.
In both 1999 and 2001, the Traveling Sales Crew Protection Act was introduced in Congresses 106 and 107. The lead sponsor is Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI). This bill would regulate the industry, close loopholes, and better protect salespersons in door-to-door sales. This bill has never made it to the floor for a vote.
“We do applaud the members of Congress who have valiantly raised this issue,” says Adkins. “Despite their efforts, Congress has proved to be unwilling to step up to the plate and pass legislation that is sorely overdue.”
For more information about the Child Labor Coalition’s fight
against traveling sales crews and other abusive forms of child labor, both
overseas and at home in the
###
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Child Labor Coalition
The Child Labor Coalition is a group of more than 40
organizations, representing consumers, labor unions, educators, human rights
and labor rights groups, child advocacy groups, and religious and women’s
groups. It was established in 1989, and is co-chaired by the National Consumers
League and the American Federation of Teachers. Its mission is to protect
working youth and to promote legislation, programs, and initiatives to end
child labor exploitation in the
About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is