September 2023 Newsletter

Issue #79

Wage Theft

Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law.

In the U.S.

Nationally it is estimated that workers are not paid at least $19 billion every year in overtime and that $40 billion to $60 billion is not paid due to all forms of wage theft. This compares to national annual losses of $340 million due to robbery, $4 billion due to burglary, $5 billion due to larceny, and $3 billion due to auto theft.

Economic Policy Foundation

Examples of wage theft include:

Unpaid overtime
Payment below the legal minimum wage
Misclassification of employee status as “contractors”
Illegal deductions in pay
Injured workers pressured not to file for worker’s compensation
Forcing employees to work “off the clock”
Not paying annual leave or holiday entitlements
Threats of being reported to immigration services
Denied sick leave or vacation time
Stolen tips

Among U.S. workers:

25% have experienced minimum wage violations
19% have experienced overtime violations
16% have experienced working “off the clock”
58% have experience meal break violations

Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois

In the 10 most populous states (California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio,

Georgia, North Carolina & Michigan) workers suffering from minimum wage violations are cheated out of $64 a week—or about $3,300 annually. These workers lose almost 25% of their earnings, receiving on average only $10,500 in annual wages instead of the $13,800 they should receive.

Economic Policy Institute

Los Angeles has the highest wage theft in the country — an estimated $26 million a week or $1.4 billion

a year.

Wage Justice Center

A full-time, minimum wage worker earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour who works just 15 minutes “off the clock” before and after their shift every day amounts to an extra half-hour of unpaid work each day. This adds up a loss to the worker (and a gain to the employer) of around $1,400 per year, including the overtime premiums they should have been paid. That’s nearly 10% of their annual earnings lost to their employer that can’t be used for utilities, groceries, rent, or other necessities.

Among “workers at risk”, such as foreign born, women, and undocumented people:

25% have experienced minimum wage violations
76% have experienced overtime violations
70% have experienced working “off the clock”
40% were subjected to illegal pay deductions
12% had tips stolen by their employer or supervisor

Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois

Of “workers at risk” who made wage theft complaints, 62% experienced one or more forms of illegal retaliation such as threatening to contact immigration authorities, firing or suspending worker or threatening to cut pay.

Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois

Industries with higher incidents of wage theft typically are lower-wage industries such as construction, healthcare, janitorial services, restaurants and retail.

Employment Law

Wage theft shifts costs from the employers to the taxpayers. When employers withhold pay from their workers, they also hurt local economies and incur costs to taxpayers. For example, misclassification of workers—a type of wage theft—costs California more than $7 billion every year.

California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement

Similarly, in a study of the construction industry in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin revealed that these states lose at least $362 million in tax revenues annually due to misclassification of workers.

Economic Policy Institute

Wage theft is a violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Wage & Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor is responsible for investigating complaints about wage theft. However, there is often a backlog of cases and typically there is a waiting time of about 6 months. The statute of limitations for wage theft is “2 years from the date of the employer’s failure to pay correct wages.”

U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division

Even if a worker wins a case against an employer, only 17% receive any payment.

Wage Justice Center

Wage Theft in Other Countries

In Australia, over 7,000 job advertisements in foreign languages offered illegally lower wages. Another form of wage theft in Australia is the failure of employers to pay the mandatory minimum contribution to employee's superannuation fund. Between 2009 and 2013 the Australian Tax Office recovered A$1.3 billion in unpaid superannuation which is estimated to be only a small portion of total unpaid superannuation.

Unions NSW

In 2019, Australian celebrity chef George Calombaris admitted to underpaying $7.83 million in wages to 515 employees, which was only discovered after a audit revealed the scale of the error following the complaint from 1 underpaid staff member.

Fair Work Australia

At least 2 million workers in Britain lost an estimated £3 billion in unpaid holiday pay and wages per year. Withholding holiday pay, not paying wages and workers losing a couple of hours money per week are some of the deliberate strategies used by employers to improve their profits.

Middlesex University and Trust for London

For more on Wage Theft, click here.

Other Resources

Preaching Racial Justice

Edited by Gregory Heille, Maurice J. Nutt, & Deborah L. Wilhelm. Conveys the urgency of Christian antiracism preaching from ecumenical, intercultural, and intergenerational perspectives. In addition to being a handbook for preachers, it can readily serve as a textbook for ecumenical schools of theology and ministry, as well as for discussion groups among congregations looking for insightful theological and practical ways of understanding race, racial justice, white supremacy, white privilege, white fragility, racial oppression, black suffering, Black Lives Matter, racial and personal reconciliation and healing, or beginning the necessary process of dismantling racism within the church and society. Read more.

For more on Racism, click here.

A Case for Color Blindness

A TED Talk, featuring writer and podcast host Coleman Hughes, who makes a case in favor of the idea of color blindness, sharing why he thinks the key to reducing inequality and easing racial tensions is replacing race-based policies with class-based ones. Watch now.

For more on Racism, click here.

Does Color Blindness Perpetuate Racism?

A special TED event hosted by the nonpartisan media group Open to Debate, moderator John Donvan leads a discussion between writer and podcast host Coleman Hughes and New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie. They discuss whether "color blindness," or treating people without regard to race or ethnicity, is the best way to promote equal opportunity or does this approach downplay racial bias and silently maintains discrimination.

Watch now.

For more on Racism, click here.

TimeCO2

A partner of Time, brings together the information, products and community to accelerate climate action and elevate climate leaders. The widest breadth of critical climate solutions on the planet come together on the Planet Portfolio, which cuts across industries to focus on what’s most urgently needed to dramatically reduce emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere. Learn more.

For more on the Environment, click here.

The Climate Crisis is Expensive --

Here's Who Should Pay for It

A TED Talk, featuring economist Avinash Persaud, who argues that the developing world is most affected by climate change but has contributed the least to the problem. Meanwhile, rich countries historically exacerbated the environmental crisis and grew wealthy as a result -- but aren't helping developing countries build climate resilience, which is now more crucial than ever to slowing climate change everywhere. He has as an ambitious proposal to reimagine that dynamic: the Bridgetown Initiative, a groundbreaking vision of how rich countries can catalyze climate mitigation, contribute to loss and damages and help build a sustainable future for all. Watch now.

For more on the Environment, click here.

School is Just the Start --

How to Help Girls Succeed for Life

A TED Talk featuring education activist Angeline Murimirwa, who says that educating girls, especially in places where they may not have easy access to schooling, is not enough. She says that a support network around girls -- from the moment they enter the classroom to years after they graduate -- makes a radical difference for their lives in school and beyond. Watch now.

For more the Education System, click here.

Defiant Dreams: The Journey of an Afghan Girl Who Risked Everything for Education

By Sola Mahfouz & Malaina Kapoor. A personal memoir of a tenacious Afghan girl who educated herself behind closed doors and fought her way to a new life. An engrossing, dramatic account co-written with Indian American human rights activist Malaina Kapoor, this is the story of one girl, but it’s also the untold story of a generation of women brimming with potential and longing for freedom. Read more.

For more on Gender Inequality, click here.

Nuns Against Gun Violence

A coalition of over 60 congregations of Catholic sisters and their allies, to speak with a united voice against the crisis of gun violence. They affirm the value of human life through prayer, education, and advocacy for common sense, evidence-based, gun violence prevention. Learn more.

For more on Gun Violence, click here.

War, AI and the New Global Arms Race

A TED Talk, featuring technologist Alexandr Wang, who says that the world is at the dawn of a new age of Artificial Intelligent (AI) powered warfare, such as lethal drones with facial recognition, armed robots and autonomous fighter jets. Explores why data will be the secret weapon in this uncharted landscape and emphasizes the need to consider national security when developing new tech -- or potentially face all-out AI warfare. Watch now.

For more on War, click here.

Catholic-Jewish Relations:

Twelve Key Themes for Teaching & Preaching

By Teresa Pirola. Offers a road map to become acquainted with the main themes and documents that have emerged through the Catholic Church's encounter and dialogue with the Jewish people since Vatican II, distilled here as twelve key statements. Framed by the author's Catholic tradition, it is a overview providing leads for further reading and discussion. The author points out that the gains of the past sixty years have become better known to non-specialist and grassroots audiences, especially those engaged in teaching, preaching, and shaping the minds and hearts of the next generation. The result is a reawakening to the Jewish foundations of Christian faith and the Church's ongoing path of reconciliation and partnership with the Jewish people. Read more.

For more on Religious Tolerance, click here.

The Commons Social Change Library

Works to make activism smarter and stronger. Gathers the collective wisdom of people engaged in social change in one accessible online place. All of their materials are free, digital, and directly available. Includes educational resources on campaign strategy, community organizing, digital campaigning, communications and media, working effectively in groups, fundraising, diversity and inclusion and much more. Resources are available in a range of formats including videos, podcasts, manuals, case studies, articles, practical how-to guides, and training materials. Learn more.

For more Community Organizing resources

click here.

How to Fund Real Change

in Your Community

A TED Talk, featuring philanthropic advisor Rebecca Darwent, who cites the success of collective giving practices from around the world and suggests that donors let communities lead decision-making, ushering in a new era of philanthropy that's rooted in interconnected humanity. Watch now.

For more Public Witness resources, click here.

The Gospel according to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity

By Greg Garrett. Presents the life and work of Baldwin in all his writing genres, on themes of equity, justice, and reconciliation. Follows Baldwin’s footsteps―from New York City to the American South, from the cafes of St.-Germain in Paris to the mountains of Switzerland, where Baldwin did some of his most important thinking and writing. The author consulted critical and cultural studies, as well as archival materials from the recently-inaugurated Baldwin Collection at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

(Available September 15th)