Today’s blog post was written by guest author Leonard Jernigan from The Jernigan Law Firm in North Carolina. Firm associate Brody Ockander also brought The New York Times story to my attention that Mr. Jernigan references. Here’s the link to the original story from the Times: More Workers Are Claiming ‘Wage Theft’. The firm’s blog has also included previous stories about wage theft, specifically Wage Theft Is Illegal And Immoral, written by Mr. Jernigan, and Wage Theft Another Assault on Workers’ Compensation, which was shared by Gelman on Workplace Injuries. As Mr. Jernigan uses North Carolina as an example, pretty much every state has a version of a Department of Labor that handles wage-theft issues. Here is a link to Nebraska’s form: Filing a Wage Complaint. In addition, many attorneys can be a resource for a person in this situation so please contact an experienced attorney, including those at our firm, if you have questions about a specific situation.
According to a recent article in The New York Times (Sept. 1, 2014), more workers are claiming wage theft by their employers. Worker advocates assert that violations of minimum wage and overtime laws, erasure of work hours and wrongful takings of employees’ tips are increasing in volume.
David Weil is the director of the federal Labor Department’s wage and hour division. Since 2010, Mr. Weil’s agency has uncovered almost $1 billion in illegally unpaid wages, with a disproportionate amount of immigrant victims. Weil believes the surge in wage theft is due to underlying changes in the national business structure. As large employers increase franchise operations as well as use of subcontractors and temp agencies, these companies deny any knowledge of wage violations.
A federal appeals court in California recently ruled that FedEx committed wage theft by labeling its drivers as independent contractors to avoid having to pay them overtime. New York’s attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, has recovered $17 million in wage claims over the past three years and in Nashville last February nine Doubletree hotel housekeepers were paid $12,000 in back wages owed by the hotel’s subcontractor. Wage theft is prevalent in North Carolina as well. According to the N.C Department of Labor 2012-13 Wage and Hour Bureau Annual Report, 4,244 complaints were investigated. Out of an estimated $2.4 million due, almost 73% of unpaid wages (over $1.79 million) were recovered for 2,168 workers. To file a wage dispute claim in North Carolina, contact the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Bureau at 919-807-2796 or 1-800-NC-LABOR.
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