As minimum wages hikes crop up around the country, and especially in California, an increase in wage theft claims is expected as well. According to KQED News, “Enforcement of New L.A. Minimum Wage Law Will Be Challenging,” implementing and enforcing the minimum wage increase ($15 by 2020) in Los Angeles will be especially daunting given the high rate of undocumented workers. The article cites that of the 700,000 workers who would be eligible for the pay hike, six out of every 10 were not born in the United States.
The issue of wage theft has been heavily researched and debated; advocates for foreign born workers are concerned the combination of limited English skills as well as limited knowledge of labor law coupled with poor state oversight may lead to continued exploitation. “L.A. is the wage-theft capital of the country,” says Julia Figueira-McDonough, an attorney for the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Figueira-McDonough says her office handles approximately 5,000 Los Angeles wage-theft complaints each year, mostly from industries employing a high number of migrant workers.
To read the full article, visit KQED.