Wage Theft

What is wage theft?

Wage theft is the illegal underpayment or nonpayment of a worker’s wages. Wage theft happens in a variety of ways. Wage theft occurs when unethical employers break either federal or state laws by:

Not paying the minimum wage
Not paying the overtime premium for hours worked over 40
Stealing workers’ tips
Not paying for all hours worked
Calling workers independent contractors when they are really employees, thereby not paying the employer side of payroll taxes, workers compensation insurance, unemployment insurance and overtime
Taking illegal deductions from workers’ pay
Giving workers paychecks that bounce

Check out our Resources page for more details about specific circumstances.

What can I do?

If you think you've been a victim of wage theft, fill out our Complaint Form or reach out to one of the lawyers on our Get Help page. If you haven't experienced this firsthand, but want to prevent wage theft in your community, your voice is important! Ask friends and family how they're being paid to make sure they aren't misclassified as independent contractors or being cheated out of overtime pay. Adopt ethical contracting practices, whether you're hiring someone to do your landscaping or you're part of a remodel process at work. Make sure all the workers in your project are paid fairly (which usually means they are recognized as employees rather than 1099 contractors). Check out our Get Involved page for more ideas.