Low-Wage Workers Are Robbed More Than Banks, Gas Stations And Convenience Stores Combined

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/low-wage-workers-robbed_n_4178706.html

The Huffington Post | By Caroline Fairchild Posted: 10/31/2013 8:40 am EDT | Updated: 10/31/2013 8:40 am EDT

Low-wage workers are robbed far more often than banks, gas stations and convenience stores combined -- and the perpetrators are their own employers.

That's because many employers don't abide by minimum wage laws or pay overtime, according to a study, released on Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.

"The country suffers an epidemic of wage theft, as large numbers of employers violate minimum-wage, overtime, and other wage and hour laws with virtual impunity," University of Oregon economist Gordon Lafer wrote in the report.

More than 60 percent of low-wage workers have some pay illegally withheld by their employer each week, according to a 2009 survey cited in the report. Low-paid workers lose a stunning $2,634 per year, on average, in unpaid wages, or 15 percent of their income, according to the report.

FULL story at link.

[Scuba]

1. I wonder how many resources law enforcement devotes to these crimes.

Probably none.

[meow2u3]

2. It's bad enough that low-wage workers are grossly underpaid

It really adds insult to injury when employers rob them of the little they have by stealing their already meager wages. Wage theft should not only be illegal nationwide, but also a FELONY punishable by a minimum of 10 years in prison in addition to restitution by the criminal bosses.