By Rebecca Koenig, Staff Writer
June 24, 2019, at 10:26 a.m.
AS LOW-INCOME WORKERS know, it’s tough to get by on modest wages. When those wages are stolen through illegal employment practices, it makes life even harder.
Unfortunately, wage theft is a problem low-income workers encounter pretty often. For example, among the roughly 110 people who pass through the doors of the Workers’ Rights Clinic each month in Washington, D.C., many come with valid claims of not having been paid properly, says Allen Cardenas, clinic coordinator.
Wage theft describes a variety of pay violations.
Examples of wage theft include:
- Not being paid for all hours worked.
- Not being paid overtime.
- Not being paid at least the applicable minimum wage.
- Not being paid at all.
- Not taking home all earned tips.
- Not being permitted to take earned breaks.
- Having pay deducted illegally.
- Being required to work “off the clock.”
Employers are responsible for following labor laws, but they don’t always comply. Follow these steps to help prevent wage theft and to take action if it occurs to you.
Know your rights.
The first step of combating wage theft is understanding the rights to which you’re entitled as a worker under federal, state and local laws. These include minimum wages, overtime pay, work breaks, reasonable medical and religious accommodations and protections from retaliation, safety hazards and discrimination.
Don’t assume wage theft is accidental.
While a company may occasionally make a bookkeeping error that results in your paycheck being smaller than it should be, most wage theft is not accidental, according to Daniel A. Katz, senior counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee, which hosts the Workers’ Rights Clinic.
“The vast majority of these claims are clearly intentional violations,” he says.
Wage theft is more common in some settings and occupations than others, according to research published by the National Employment Law Project, which advocates for low-wage workers. It happens relatively frequently in textile factories, private households, restaurants, retail stores and warehouses and to people who work in child care, personal services, building services, hospitality and food preparation.