How utterly haughty and ridiculous does the state Department of Labor and Industry sound discussing unpaid tax obligations — particularly an 88-cent property tax lien against the Warren County Commissioners?

Secretary Jennifer Berrier said in a statement that the department is making it more easily accessible “because we believe Pennsylvania workers and taxpayers deserve to know when labor laws are willfully thwarted and who’s doing it. No employer or business owner is above the law. We hope this list compels employers to meet their legal obligations under our laws.”

The money, according to Commissioner Ben Eggleston, arose from 2019 unemployment claims that weren’t paid when the state switched to a new system. When the county found out about the outstanding balance in May 2021 the county paid the bill and thought the matter closed. It wasn’t until the tax lien was filed by the state that county officials discovered there was residual interest on the unpaid unemployment claims. A letter likely would have sufficed, but there is a bigger issue lurking. The county says there have been about a dozen fraudulent claims made against the county in the last year and three remain unresolved. They say counties across the state report similar challenges.

We wonder if businesses are having the same sort of issue and why these fraudulent claims aren’t being handled with the same zeal with which the state seems to enjoy filing tax claims for piddly amounts.

Perhaps counties and businesses need to raise their voice so that the Labor and Industry Department will, in Berrier’s words, “meet their legal obligations under our laws.”