Los Angeles is wage theft capital? Employees are fighting back!

HERE is an interesting statistic from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI): In the year 2012, “the US Department of Labor recovered $280 million in back pay for 308,000 workers. That amount – a small fraction of the total wage theft nationwide – far exceeded the total [amount of $139 million] lost to criminals in street and highway, bank, gas station and convenience store robberies in 2012.”
The EPI’s conclusion: “Wage theft is a far bigger problem than bank robberies, convenience store robberies, street and highway robberies, and gas station robberies combined. Employers steal billions of dollars from their employees each year by working them off the clock, by failing to pay the minimum wage, or by cheating them of their rightful overtime pay.”
Here in California, even after the enactment of the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2011, employees continue to be victimized by employer violations of labor laws. In a recent L.A. Times article, a councilman was quoted as saying, “If you steal from a store, you go to jail. But employers who cheat their workers out of their hard-earned wages usually get away with it.”
But even if “Los Angeles is the wage-theft capital of the country,” according to a researcher at the UCLA Labor Center, brave and persistent employees continue to fight to be paid the correct wages due them and their co-workers. With the assistance of experienced and knowledgeable employment attorneys, they are even winning. Consider the most recent report of another outcome below:
For nearly six years, Fabio Gonzalez worked as an hourly employee at Universal Alloy Corp., an aircraft metals manufacturer with a plant in Anaheim, California. In early 2013, Gonzalez and other co-workers sued their employer in a class action, to recover unpaid overtime and minimum wage payments due to them.
The employees accused the company of time shaving practices by paying factory employees only for their scheduled shift hours, rather than the number of hours they actually worked. The practice resulted in employees not being paid for all of the hours they worked. The employees also claimed that the employer did not include their bonuses in the calculation of their regular rate pay, resulting in the miscalculation of their overtime pay. Furthermore, the employees claimed that the company did not provide them with meal and rest breaks as required by law. On top of these violations, the employer was accused of failing to maintain proper wage statements and records.
Even while refusing to admit shortchanging its employees, the company decided to settle with the employees because it apparently already spent a lot of time and money defending itself in the case and wanted to minimize the “disruption to its business.” The settlement amount of $4,750,000 is anticipated to benefit about 770 employees in California and other states. Employees were expected to receive an average of about $800 and up to more than $7,000.
Continuing to be vigilant about their rights is one of the most effective ways for employees to prevent and remedy wage theft.
California law provides that time spent by an employee performing activities that are controlled by and for the benefit of the employer is considered “work time” and must be paid by the employer.  Employees are likely victims of wage theft if they experience off-the-clock work, rounding down practices, timekeeping manipulations, misclassification is salaried employees or independent contractors, piece rate pay for more than 8 hours of work, or the lack of meal and rest breaks.
There may be other situations where wage theft occurs. Employees who feel they are not compensated correctly would be wise to consult with a knowledgeable employment attorney.

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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost.  Atty. Sayas’ Law Office is located at 500 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 980, Glendale, CA 91203. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit  www.joesayaslaw.com. 

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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.