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.