Workers Independent News
Doug Cunningham
Wage theft continues to be a major issue in the United States even with increasing pressure being placed on employers. Jesse Russell reports:
Interfaith Workers Justice has been working nationally to secure legislation that would strengthen the Department of Labor’s ability to confront wage theft. Throughout the country on the local level the organization has been confronting businesses that they allege have committed wage theft and works with employees to recover those lost wages. In Madison, Wisconsin on Tuesday the Workers Rights Center held a protest in front of the King of Falafel restaurant on behalf of four workers. According to Patrick Hickey the owner owes back wages to four workers at one of his other establishments in the city.
[Hickey]: Four workers haven’t been paid for work they did last fall so they’ve been trying to get the owner to pay them for this work and he’s been delaying and putting them off and putting them off.
Hickey added that the King of Falafel issue is just one example of when employers “steal the wages” of workers, a problem that is prevalent throughout the country.
[Hickey2]: Trying to keep the issue out in front of peoples faces and letting them know a local example of a national issue.
According to a recent report 68 percent of low-wage workers reported wage theft in 2008. States like California and New York have created special task forces to tackle known wage theft problem industries. As a result of the increased effort in New York the state was able to recover more than $28 million owed to workers. Federally, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has been making it a major priority by bringing on board 250 additional wage inspectors in 2009.