The Honorable Thomas Richard Harkin
Chairman
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
The Honorable Lamar Alexander
Ranking Member
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
Dear Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Alexander:
Mary Ziegler, Director
Division of Regulations Legislation, and Interpretation
Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3510
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210
Re: RIN 1235-AA10 - Proposed Rule – Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors
Dear Ms. Ziegler:
From: Demos
To: Mayor Bill de Blasio; City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito; and interested parties
Regarding: Unjustified exemptions that weaken and Aundermine legislation on employment credit checks
Dear Mayor de Blasio and Members of the City Council:
As leaders in New York City who are concerned about economic and racial injustice, we call on you to enact Intro. 261, The Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act, and to ensure that this legislation does not include unjustified exemptions. The common practice of using credit checks to screen job applicants creates illegitimate barriers to employment, exacerbates racial discrimination, and may lead to invasions of privacy.
Supreme Court cases clearly demonstrate that under the Tenth Amendment, the federal government may not coerce state and local governments to enforce federal law through threats to withdraw federal funding.
The NVRA was intended to make voter registration widely available at agencies serving the public, and is an important tool for modernizing voter registration.
Ensuring compliance with NVRA requirements increases voter registration rates, particularly among low-income populations.
Expanding the number of designated NVRA agencies can further expand the reach of voter registration opportunities.
Congress enacted the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993 with the goal of making voter registration more convenient and accessible.
States should modernize registration procedures by allowing eligible voters to register to vote and update their registrations online.
Online registration saves states and localities money.
Registration rates among young voters increase with online registration.
These days, bank transfers, credit card transactions, and even medical record storage all happen online. These transactions are not only complicated but also highly sensitive, yet technology has managed to evolve to ensure the transactions are safe and secure, as well as convenient.
A person’s voter registration should remain valid when he or she moves within the state.
Centralized statewide voter registration databases are essential to provide portable registration.
Permanent and Portable registration helps narrow participation gaps among young people, people of color and lower-income Americans.
Twelve percent of Americans change their residence every year.1 Between 2011 and 2012, 22 million voting-age Americans moved either within the same county or to a different county within thei
Eligible 16 and 17 year olds should be pre-registered to vote and automatically added to voting rolls when they turn 18.
Targeted outreach to young eligible voters leads to substantial increases in voter registration.
Encouraging civic engagement at a young age leads to increased participation over a lifetime.
In the 2008 election, young people voted at the second-highest rate of all time.1 Voter turnout among 18-24 year olds grew by double digits from 2000 to 2008.
Third party voter registration drives are a critical component to ensuring eligible voters are registered.
States should permit third party registration drives without restrictive limitations.
Boards of elections should provide materials on voter registration to registration drives.
The National Voter Registration Act substantially increased the number of places where eligible voters could register. Now, voter registration is available at motor vehicle offices, public assistance agencies, and various other sites.