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By Laura Banish
Journal Staff Writer
Two employees of the Santa Fe Sage Inn complained
to the City Council on Wednesday that the city has ignored their allegations
that the hotel is in violation of
The women filed complaints against their employer last month
and say they have yet to get a response from the city manager or the city
attorney.
"I think we are being ignored. Why won't you
acknowledge us?" Sage Inn worker Noelia Flores
said through a translator.
The city's wage law requires businesses with 25 employees or
more to pay employees $9.50 per hour, a little more than $4 more than the
federal minimum wage, currently set at $5.15.
The complaints filed against the Sage Inn allege that the
hotel, which has less than 25 employees, is deliberately dodging the law by
using employees from the
Tomás Rivera, an organizer with
the Living Wage Network, later said that there are a handful of businesses who
are failing to comply with the law, either because of misinformation or in an
active attempt to circumvent the law. Rivera said the Living Wage Network has
received complaints from workers of 13 separate businesses in
"In three cases, the individuals who came to us had
done so after communicating their complaint to the city with no response or
follow-up," Rivera said. "We are aware of at least 50 more separate
complaints that have been sent to the city's manager's office from
organizations and individuals who are in contact with us."
City Manager Mike Lujan had a look of shock on his face when
Rivera said there was such a high number of unresolved
complaints.
"To be quite honest with you, that's
the first time I heard that there were that many outstanding complaints,"
Lujan said. "I will look into it."
Lujan said there is a city attorney who handles complaints,
as well as a contracted investigator.
Lujan said the city attorney is handling the complaints
about the Sage Inn.
Since the implementation of the $9.50-an-hour wage, Lujan
said the city has received eight inquiries about one property, which he did not
identify, but said wasn't the Sage Inn. These complaints are currently under
investigation, he said.
City Councilor David Coss, an advocate of the living wage
and a mayoral candidate, said this isn't the first time he's heard grievances
about the city's poor response to living wage violation complaints.
"We passed the law two years ago, and I think by now we
should have a pretty standard complaint resolution process," Coss said.
"I don't think it's fair to the businesses or the workers for this to be
unresolved for so long."