I’d like to share with you an incredibly alarming statistic: in New York City alone, workers lose roughly $1 billion to wage theft every year. Nationwide, this figure could be as much as $50 billion per year.
Wage theft occurs when employers refuse to provide the full wages or benefits their employees are owed by law. It can happen when employers steal workers’ tips, withhold wages, deny legally-mandated meal or rest breaks, pay sub-minimum wages, or withhold overtime pay. Those most vulnerable to wage theft include low-income workers, immigrant workers, and workers of color, and the most common industries where wage theft occurs most frequently are restaurants and hospitality, janitorial services, and hospitals and healthcare.
For years, NCLEJ has fought back to empower workers and end the insidious practice of wage theft. In 2022, we filed a complaint against the New York State Departments of Health and Labor for their role in perpetuating wage theft against home health aides who are forced to work 24-hour shifts for only 13 hours of pay. And as a member of the SWEAT Coalition, we’re fighting to turn the tide against worker exploitation and secure better protections, better wages, and better conditions for low-income workers.
Workers’ rights are central to the work we do. In addition to combating wage theft, we also advocate for raising minimum wages, demand that workplaces are free from sexual harassment and racial discrimination, and fight to ensure all workers have access to a strong social safety net of generous unemployment benefits.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice advances racial and economic justice through ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. We have provided legal representation and support since 1965.
