[Every year, $50 billion are stolen from American workers by their
bosses. The Left and labor should be working tirelessly to pass
anti-wage-theft legislation at every level of government.]
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WE AREN’T TALKING ENOUGH ABOUT WAGE THEFT  
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Joe Mayall
March 5, 2023
Jacobin
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_ Every year, $50 billion are stolen from American workers by their
bosses. The Left and labor should be working tirelessly to pass
anti-wage-theft legislation at every level of government. _

On January 9, Denver City Council unanimously voted to pass
Resolution 22-1614, an anti-wage-theft bill that significantly
increases Denver workers’ ability to reclaim wages stolen by their
bosses. , Alvaro Gonzalez / Getty Images

 

Denver City Council started 2023 on the right foot. On Monday, January
9, the council unanimously voted to pass Resolution 22-1614
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an anti-wage-theft bill that significantly increases Denver workers’
ability to reclaim wages stolen by their bosses.

Almost four years in the making, Resolution 22-1614 is not only a
victory for the Mile High working class but an opportunity for the
American left as a whole. By advocating for similar anti-wage-theft
bills across the country, socialists will be able to simultaneously
protect workers, punish offending businesses, and rise above the
culture war noise to show the working class that the Left is the only
political force seriously committed to improving their material
conditions.

The Denver Bill

“Wage theft” is broadly defined as when a boss doesn’t pay a
worker what is legally owed. Its most common forms are minimum wage
violations, unpaid overtime, forcing employees to work through meal
breaks, illegal paycheck deductions, and straight-up theft. When taken
together, these offenses reach a staggering amount. According to the
research of the Denver City Council, up to $728 million is stolen from
Colorado workers every year.

In addition to taking money out of individual workers’ pockets,
stolen wages compound to deprive working-class communities of
much-needed economic activity and taxes to fund crucial social
programs such as schools, transportation, and health care. Instead,
stolen wages are stashed in the bank accounts of thieves, far from the
places they are needed most.

But thanks to the efforts of Denver’s labor unions, left-wing groups
like Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and DSA-backed city
councilors, Resolution 22-1614 now severely hampers would-be criminals
by empowering workers to easily reclaim what is rightfully theirs
while punishing businesses that steal from Denver’s working class.

The new bill gives aggrieved workers two paths to reclaim stolen
wages. The first is through the Denver Labor office, which will
investigate the claim and has the ability to charge employers wages
owed plus 12 percent interest. The second option is the right of
private action, which enables workers to sue in court for treble
damages, attorney’s fees, reinstatement of employment, and $100 for
every day they went with wages unpaid.

In addition to these avenues, the bill also increases the statute of
limitations for wage theft to three years, expands the definition of
“worker” to include independent contractors (Uber drivers,
DoorDashers, etc.), and institutes “up the chain” restitution,
enabling workers to pursue wages from businesses that hired their
direct employer.

With clear restitution processes, stern penalties, and expanded
protections, Denver’s Resolution 22-1614 is the gold standard model
of anti–wage theft legislation. The Left should look to replicate it
in every city and state in America.

The National Issue

Unfortunately, wage theft is not confined to the Rocky Mountains. The
research conducted by Denver City Council found that up to 68 percent
of low-wage, city-based US workers suffered at least one wage-theft
violation during the typical workweek. According to the Economic
Policy Institute, up to $50 billion is stolen
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from American workers through wage theft every year. For comparison,
the FBI estimates the total value of 2019 robberies to be $482 million
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meaning employers stole one hundred times more from Americans than did
traditional thieves.

And while any dime stolen from any worker is an inexcusable crime,
like most forms of exploitation, the most common victims of wage theft
are the most marginalized. As women, migrant workers, and workers of
color are the most likely to have their wages stolen, anti-wage-theft
protections are a social justice issue as well as a labor one.

With wage theft posing a daily threat to the United States’ working
class, left-wing and labor groups across the country should make the
passage of anti-wage-theft bills a top priority. While some areas do
have existing anti-wage-theft legislation — and there’s the
“Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act of 2022” currently
sitting in the House of Representatives — it’s evident that
what’s already in place isn’t enough to stop this pervasive
threat. Given the pressing need to protect US workers’ hard-earned
pay, socialists should look to implement anti-wage-theft protections
at every level of government.

Legal protection is not the only benefit such a push would bring. In
addition to combating injustice, advocating for anti-wage-theft bills
would draw a clear line between the political actors who actually seek
to help workers and those who employ pro-worker rhetoric to obscure
their reactionary politics. To the detriment of the Left, the
pro-capitalist establishments of both major political parties are
adept at parroting pro-labor sentiments, diverting working-class
attention and sapping the socialist movement of potential supporters.

Donald Trump and the Republicans position themselves as “a
working-class party” by scapegoating immigrants as the cause of wage
stagnation. Meanwhile they cut corporate taxes and endanger workers
with deregulation, as seen in the horrific East Palestine train
disaster
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And as we saw from President Joe Biden’s decision to preemptively
break the railroad workers’ strike
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earlier this year, the Democratic Party rests on its union-endorsement
laurels while doing very little for workers themselves.

It could be a long time before socialists have the power to bring
about an effective anti-wage-theft bill at the national level.
Introducing them to local polities is both more attainable and
promising, as political tribalism and the distortions of corporate
media are much less prevalent at the lower levels.

Once anti-wage-theft bills are before state legislatures and city
councilors, there is little room to waver. Either the politicians are
for protecting workers, or they stand with the thieving bosses. If
they choose the former, the Left has just delivered important
legislation protecting the marginalized and curtailing corporate
theft. And if politicians choose the latter, they will be revealed as
anti-worker politicians who talk for labor but walk for the bosses.
Both outcomes have the potential to bolster our project of building a
fighting working class.

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* Wage Theft; Denver City Council Resolution 22-1614;
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