Editorial: Stop Wage Theft

Each and every week, some 372,000 robberies of a particular type occur in California at an estimated cost of $1.2 to $1.5 billion annually. The figure has reached epidemic proportions. The crime is wage theft. It refers to the failure of employers to pay workers according to the law. It is time to stop this abuse.

A December 2014 U.S. Department of Labor report revealed the magnitude of the problem in our state. The majority of victims in Los Angeles are immigrants, women, and communities of color, according to a study by UCLA’s Labor Center.

Wage theft specifically refers to not paying the minimum wage, not paying for overtime, or in some cases, establishing “training” periods, which are little more than an excuse to have an individual work for free, among other violations.

Legal recourse does exist but rare are the times that a worker recovers what is owed. The most recent report from the California Labor Commission shows a collection rate of only 20% and cases can take years to resolve. During that time, companies can change location and names, and then do not pay what is due.

Last year a bill to correct this problem was scrapped in Sacramento because it was considered excessive. Today Senate President Kevin de Leon announced SB 588 as a way to curtail wage theft. The measure requires companies to post a $150,000 bond toward employees’ back wages if the firms fail to pay what the state orders. It also allows the state to issue citations directly to business owners, intended to prevent violators from forming shell companies to avoid legal judgments.

It is unfortunate that there are employers who steal from workers, taking advantage of their immigration status, their financial vulnerability and their ignorance of the law. These employers are criminals like any other thief. The first step is to help victims recover their money and SB 588 does just that.