Cherie Berry is practically a celebrity in our state. Anyone who has ridden an elevator has likely noticed her face and name when finding something to stare at during the awkward silences endemic to elevator rides with strangers.
This has created a cult of celebrity around the so-called “Elevator Lady.”
Well, The Elevator Lady is, in fact, our North Carolina labor commissioner. Her office is responsible for a variety of duties related to the “health, safety and general well-being” of workers in the state.
These include inspecting work facilities and machinery to ensure safety (that’s where the elevators come in), ensuring that workers receive the wages they earned, protecting employees who have suffered retaliatory discrimination and many other important duties.
Unfortunately, despite her bright smile and comforting presence on elevator rides, Cherie Berry has not been a good labor commissioner for North Carolina.
The primary sin of her office has been her failure to ensure that workers receive the wages they are owed. This is an essential task of Berry’s office. In 2014, the (Raleigh) News & Observer reported that 1,521 workers filed lost wage claims which were validated by investigators, yet 40 percent of the workers didn’t receive the lost wages Berry’s office determined they were owed.
The News & Observer reviewed several of the cases and found Berry’s office didn’t make more than cursory attempts to make sure workers got the wages they earned.
Imagine that you’re a worker making minimum wage or only a little above it. Then imagine that your employer refused to pay you all the wages you were owed. Then imagine you filed a claim with the North Carolina Department of Labor, and they validated your claim.
Think about how crushing it would be to find out the Department of Labor didn’t think it was worth their resources to ensure you were paid the lost wages the department itself determined you are owed. This is a reality for some workers.
