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Wage theft a problem across industries, study says (NV)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By: Bailey Schulz
Las Vegas Review-Journal
June 3, 2019 – 7:22 am

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Wage theft is a recurring problem found in a range of industries across the state, according to a 2018 study. Today’s tight labor market isn’t expected to help.

Nevada’s findings

Nevada Labor Commissioner Shannon Chambers said wage theft cases – instances where a company tries to raise profits by forcing employees to work off the clock or not paying them for overtime work – have been on the rise in Nevada over the past four years. But that doesn’t necessarily mean more companies are engaging in illegal practices.
“We are receiving more claims,” Chambers said. “Part of that is because our economy is improving again, and there are more people in the workforce.”

Back wages on the rise

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division collected an average of $835,000 for workers per day in back wages – the difference between what an employee was paid and the amount that employee should have been paid.

 

The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported that unemployment in Nevada dropped to 4 percent in April, the lowest in 13 years.

Nevada isn’t the only state facing wage theft disputes, according to a 2018 study by national policy resource center Good Jobs First.

(Read More)

Grand Theft Paycheck: The Large Corporations Shortchanging Their Workers’ Wages

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

New research finds that a wide range of big corporations have been shortchanging the people who work for them

by Philip Mattera with a chapter on policy recommendations by Adam Shah
June 2018

Washington, DC-A new report finds that many large corporations operating in the United States have boosted their profits by forcing employees to work off the clock, cheating them out of required overtime pay and engaging in similar practices that together are known as wage theft.

The detailed analysis of federal and state court records shows that these corporations have paid out billions of dollars to resolve wage theft lawsuits brought by workers. Walmart, which has long been associated with such practices, has paid the most, but the list of the most-penalized employers also includes Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other large banks and insurance companies as well as major technology and healthcare corporations. Many of the large corporations are repeat offenders, and 450 firms have each paid out $1 million or more in settlements and/or judgments.

These are among the findings in Grand Theft Paycheck: The Large Corporations Shortchanging Their Workers’ Wages published today by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First and Jobs With Justice Education Fund. It is available at www.goodjobsfirst.org/wagetheft

“Our findings make it clear that wage theft goes far beyond sweatshops, fast-food outlets and retailers. It is built into the business model of a substantial portion of Corporate America,” said Good Jobs First Research Director Philip Mattera, the lead author of the report.

(Read More – Press Release)

(PDF Copy of Full Report)

(Read More)

Violation Tracker Expansion Adds 34,000 Wage Theft Cases

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Violation Tracker Expansion Adds 34,000 Wage Theft Cases; More Than 40 Agencies Now Combined in One Search Engine

 

Good Jobs First
4/18/2017

Washington, DC, April 18, 2017-Good Jobs First today announced a large new addition to Violation Tracker, the country’s first public database of corporate crime and misconduct: more than 34,000 cases brought by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor since the beginning of 2010 for violations of overtime, minimum wage and other provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The largest violators captured by the new data are oilfield services company Halliburton, which in 2015 agreed to an $18 million settlement of alleged overtime violations, and CoreCivic (the new name of private prison operator Corrections Corporation of America), which in 2014 agreed to an $8 million settlement.

Violation Tracker, a public service of Good Jobs First’s Corporate Research Project, is available at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/violation-tracker.

“The DOL Wage and Hour dataset is the first phase of our work plan to provide comprehensive coverage of wage theft cases,” said Good Jobs First Research Director Philip Mattera, who leads the work on Violation Tracker. “We are also collecting information on private collective-action Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuits.”

(Read More)

Amid Talk of Deregulation, Database Documents the Obama Administration’s Final Offensive Against Corporate Crime

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Good Jobs First
21/02/2017

Washington, DC, February 21, 2017-While Washington is focused on deregulation, the country’s first database on corporate crime has documented the wave of cases against major companies resolved by the Obama Administration during its final weeks.

Violation Tracker, a public service of Good Jobs First’s Corporate Research Project launched in 2015, today posted recent enforcement records showing that between Election Day and the inauguration, the Justice Department and other federal agencies obtained more than $20 billion in penalties and settlements from dozens of companies accused of a wide range of offenses involving financial, environmental, health and other harms to large numbers of people.

Violation Tracker is available and free at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/violation-tracker.
“Given the Trump Administration’s focus on deregulation rather than enforcement, the Obama Administration’s wave of case resolutions may represent Uncle Sam’s last hurrah against business misconduct for some time,” said Good Jobs First Research Director Philip Mattera, who leads the work on Violation Tracker. “The data in Violation Tracker should give pause to those who argue for less oversight.”

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In addition to the recent cases, Violation Tracker now includes data from nine additional federal agencies, bringing the total to 39. Among the nine are the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, both of which deal with allegations of workplace discrimination. Wage theft cases brought by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division as well as related private litigation will be covered in an update to Violation Tracker later this year.

(Read More)