The Great American Wage Heist
When we think of burglaries, we often think of strangers who might target our homes, our cars, or our wallets. But more likely, we are being robbed by familiar actors in our daily lives: our employers.
Wage theft, or the denial of legally due pay to an employee, is estimated to cost U.S. workers more than $50 billion a year, surpassing all other types of theft combined. Behind this figure are people who work longer just to make what they have already earned. In effect, it is their time that is being exploited. And for low-wage workers, this is just the first act of a heist that goes largely unchecked.
Wage theft, or the denial of legally due pay to an employee, is estimated to cost U.S. workers more than $50 billion a year, surpassing all other types of theft combined. Behind this figure are people who work longer just to make what they have already earned. In effect, it is their time that is being exploited. And for low-wage workers, this is just the first act of a heist that goes largely unchecked.
