Can My Boss Do That? – Stop Wage Theft
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November 20, 2009
CHICAGO - With unemployment at an all time high in Illinois, many residents are accepting jobs that don't pay minimum wage, not realizing their employer is violating the law. It's called "wage theft" and it takes many forms. Protesters and religious groups have launched a campaign to raise awareness and to get stricter enforcement.
A recent survey of workers in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles found one in four workers making less than minimum wage and more than half were underpaid by more than a dollar an hour. Some people knew they wouldn't earn enough to make ends meet, but they took the job feeling as though they had no choice, the survey found.
Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice, says that's unacceptable.
"The option is not that you can only have a job that underpays you. The answer here is, we need enforcement of the nation's laws so that you're paid for all the hours you work."
The industries that tend to violate wage laws the most, Bobo says, are garment manufacturing, restaurants, and construction. Some people think that construction companies need to pay workers less to keep costs down. Bobo disagrees.
"There's not that much relationship between bids and how workers are paid. Sometimes the highest bidder on a project is paying their workers some of the lowest wages."
Restaurants sometimes steal tips that are placed on credit cards, according to Bobo, who adds consumers can do something about that.
"I ask the wait staff, 'If I put this on my credit card, will you get it?' And, if they look at me and say, 'Well, of course I'll get it.' Right. But, then there are the others who will say, 'You know, it'd be better if you leave it in cash.' Well, that's a pretty clear sign they're probably not going to get it."
Workers in Illinois and around the country are fighting back. In Chicago, a group of Polish construction workers has filed a lawsuit to recover $70,000 in lost wages. The Department of Labor has also hired more enforcement officers. Bobo says communities need to be educated, and her group is protesting companies that violate the law. They've also set up the Web site, www.canmybossdothat.com, where workers can learn their rights and how to get paid fairly. Meantime, Congress is working on strengthening laws that are already in place.