Wage theft is defined as illegal access to employers’ payments to or employment benefits that they have, due to a non-consensual grant, or a decision made deliberately by the employer, which violates the labor rights of the worker in the state of California.
The objective of this type of robbery is to obtain a significant amount of money as if it were an economic bond, this in order to be able to finance and justify the payment of salaries and other personal expenses as a boss or owner of a company, business , company, etc.
Since 2016, wage theft seems like an increasingly common phenomenon, even though many employers don’t realize the seriousness of the issue. According to the ILO, or World Labor Organization, the theft of wages represented 3% of the total theft of goods and services in the world during that year.
Just like US citizens, let’s remember that migrant aliens are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the L.A. newspaper. Times, for which they are entitled to overtime, after working 40 hours per week and a competitive minimum wage in accordance with the laws of the state of California.
Frequent Causes of Theft and Wages in California
In general, it is usual for a resident or immigrant, visa or naturalized, to be threatened by the employer to prevent them from reporting the situation that they present regarding salary payments. However, there are other ways in which this crime is presented. Some of them are:
-The lack of security in the economic laws, that is, due to failures in the administrative or bureaucratic process during the verification of the complaint.
-Inflation, which prevents the acquisition of goods and services from being a simple task, since their prices fluctuate daily, weekly, monthly, or annually, and allows employers to take advantage of this when making payments.
-Companies inserted in large international economic conglomerates, which are not willing to pay higher salaries to their employees, especially if they work digitally or remotely, or are outside the United States working under this modality.
In addition to this, wage theft brings as a consequence a series of collateral effects on the country’s economy, since it reduces the consumption of goods and services, local, national and international investment, as well as the occupation of employment positions where labor agreements or contracts are respected, including worker’s compensation insurance.
Final considerations and solutions under discussion
Wage theft occurs as we have already mentioned, either because the employer appropriates the income of the employees, or because other coworkers do not pay what corresponds to others, especially if they are part of the administrative or resource department. company, company, etc.
The solution? Some professionals in the legal area talk about establishing more transparent mechanisms through state laws, which guarantee people who lose wages or have already lost them, fair compensation if necessary through a reformulation of legal statutes.
However, being aware that there are challenges, especially in companies in the textile sector (cut and sew), where the majority of employees are immigrants (42%), which represents a large part of the country’s workforce, It is necessary to reduce or prevent this type of crime from continuing to be committed in workplaces inside and outside of California.
In short, wage theft can occur in any state in the country, or even anywhere else in the world. However, it is necessary that, as employers, we read each of the terms of the contract that is presented to us before starting the job and ask any questions that are related to the benefits that you will receive in it, this in case of a conflict situation or work accident.
However, if you have read our text, and you suspect that a crime is taking place in your workplace, and you want to take legal action to stop it, remember that you can contact us to receive more information on labor laws at state of California, and thus undertake your complaint intelligently and receive the compensation you deserve.