Minnesota Democrat suggests studying ‘benefits of shoplifting’ in hearing
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A Democrat from Minnesota who responded harshly to a Republican about potential “benefits”[s] “Shoplifting” was used during a hearing on misclassification of workers, arguing that this exchange had gone awry.
At a hearing this week of the Minnesota House of Representatives Labor and Labor Committee, lawmakers reviewed information on how laws governing employee and independent contractor classifications affect insurance payments and other benefits. local reports.
State Rep. Dave Pinto, D-St. Paul responded after a Republican lawmaker raised concerns that misclassification of employees is ultimately taxpayers’ responsibility.
“This is an interesting set of questions,” Pinto said in proposing a study on “the benefits of shoplifting and retail theft.”
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A suspect was detained outside a department store in California on an unspecified date. (Will Lester/Getty Images)
Pinto talked about a recent presentation before another committee he was on that tried to find solutions to organized retail theft.
“And it hadn’t actually occurred to me to make sure that they were going to study the benefits of shoplifting, retail theft — it probably would be good, because maybe people rely on it and use it, maybe it helps them in some way,” he said.
Pinto explained whether people who engage in such activities are considered to be violating the law and that such a debate may be based on a policy issue.
In a comment to Fox News Digital, Pinto defended his remarks, saying he was reacting sarcastically to Rep. Isaac Schultz, R-Mille Lacs, who asked the original question.
“My comments, intended to be sarcastic, followed a series of questions from Republican Rep. Isaac Schultz who suggested a study was needed on whether the illegal practice of worker classification harms consumers,” Pinto said.
“As a prosecutor, I of course take retail theft and shoplifting seriously. Any insinuation to the contrary is absurd, as are Rep. Schultz’s words.”
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However, Pinto’s original comment was viewed thousands of times on social media and drew responses from other MPs amid ongoing scrutiny over welfare fraud and other scandals in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
State Rep. Krista Knudsen, R-Lake Shore, remained speechless in her video response on the matter as she held her hands to her face.
“Shoplifting doesn’t do any good for the people who are shoplifting. I have no idea what else to say,” Knudsen said. “I’m actually shocked. I don’t even know what to say. Who – I don’t know what to say – Who benefits from the theft? Criminals.”
State Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican from the Minneapolis area, cited nationally known scandals in her district and said she couldn’t believe the comment was made by Pinto.
“[W]We’re trying to prevent fraud and crime in Minnesota, and it’s something we’ve been focused on as a legislature for many years. “We finally included the crime of organized retail theft in the law last session,” he said.
“This has been a long process, and this is the tool we need to address this real problem in our communities across the state.”
Misclassification of workers has been a focus of Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers in the state legislature since an effort to ban employers from misclassifying employees began in 2024.
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The policy was reportedly encouraged by a construction worker who testified before lawmakers that he had paid large medical bills following a work-related injury, but his employer then offered him only a small amount for the expenses and “told him to forget about the insurance and change his name and address, and if no one paid, the bills would eventually go away.” House of Representatives website.
The man allegedly later learned his employer had misclassified employees to save on labor costs, according to the lawmakers’ page.
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State Rep. Emma Greenman, D-Minneapolis, authored HF4444 to ensure that businesses do not behave this way in the future and/or misclassify employees as contractors or similar.
“Our mission is to ensure Minnesota workers have the protections we provide by law,” he said at the time.
