A Practical Guide To Combatting Wage Theft 2017

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Lessons from the Field
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO
COMBATTING WAGE THEFT
NOVEMBER 2017
This guide was made possible by the generous support of the Public Welfare Foundation. The
Foundations long-standing commitment to worker justice issues, and to combatting wage
theft in particular, has helped secure many of the victories profiled here and has contributed to
the ongoing project of building greater cross-state collaboration and mutual learning.
www.publicwelfare.org
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY
ABOUT PUBLIC WELFARE FOUNDATION
The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic
democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and
progressive unions. CPD strengthens our collective capacity to envision and win an innovative pro-
worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda.
www.populardemocracy.org
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Getting Started: Campaign Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Campaign Planning: A Six-Step Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Worker-Led Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Getting Started: Building Your Coalition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Forming a Coalition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Coalition Structures and Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Getting Started: Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Research Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Research Partnerships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Winning the Campaign: Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Shaping an Overall Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Crafting Your Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Deploying Your Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Developing Communications Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Interacting with the Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Winning the Campaign: Legislative Advocacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Laying the Groundwork for an Eective Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Building Relationships with Legislators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Navigating Passage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Alternatives to Wage Theft Legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Implementation: Strengthening Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Budget Advocacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Improving Agency Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
Lessons from the Field
1
Introduction
Wage theft—any instance of an employer failing to pay their employees the wages owed for
work performedcontinues to plague communities across the country. Every year unscrupulous
employers steal billions of dollars from workers. Practices of wage theft include:
Paying less than the minimum wage
Failing to pay required overtime
Paying less than the promised wage
Misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor to avoid providing workers
compensation, unemployment insurance, or an hourly wage
Deducting the cost of required uniforms or tools from paychecks
Failing to provide paid sick leave where required by law
Requiring uncompensated work “off the clock”
A study by the National Employment Law Project
(NELP) of low-wage workers in New York City,
Chicago, and Los Angeles found that over two-
thirds of low-wage workers had experienced wage
theft in the previous workweek.1 The Economic
Policy Institute estimates that wage theft costs
America’s low-wage workers more than $50
billion each year.2 In New York alone, the New York
Department of Labor recovered $30.2 million in
wages to 27,000 claimants in 20143most likely
a fraction of the actual value of legal violations
that year.
Wage Theft is Pervasive
The pervasiveness of wage theft, and its financial impact on workers, communities, businesses and
local economies, is well documented. For example, a study by the National Employment Law Project
(NELP) of nearly 4,500 low-wage workers in three major U.S. cities (New York City, Chicago and Los
Angeles) found that:
Over two-thirds of low-wage workers had experienced wage theft in the previous workweek4
Employers stole more than $56 million in workers’ wages every week,5 which translates to
nearly $3 billion in total annual wage theft
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
2
If these findings are generalizable to the
rest of the population, the Economic Policy
Institute estimates that wage theft costs
America’s low-wage workers more than
$50 billion each year.6
For many workers in the US, wage theft is
the rule, not the exception. For low-wage
workers especially, stolen wages mean that
families struggle to pay the rent, put food
on the table, buy school supplies for their
children, or pay for needed medications.
Workers and their families are not the only
victims of wage theft, however. Employers
who steal wages wield an unfair economic
advantage over businesses that follow
the law. They also rob the community of
significant tax revenue. For example, it has
been estimated that wage theft costs New
York State as much as $427 million dollars
in tax revenue each year.7
Wage theft is by definition unlawful, but legal remedies are often costly, time-consuming, and
insufficient to deter employers from violating the law.8 Even when workers manage to win an
unpaid wage case against their employers, they are often unable to collect the money due to
inadequate enforcement. In California, more than $282 million was awarded for unpaid wages
between 2008 and 2011, but only $42 million was ever collected from employers and distributed to
victims of wage theft.9
The reality is that many employers commit wage theft with impunity. Increasing the consequences of
wage theft for employers, improving the remedies available to workers, and strengthening wage theft
enforcement tools are core strategies to realizing economic justice and respecting workers’ dignity.
Over the last decade, workers, advocates, and community leaders have developed a variety of
strategies to combat wage theft in cities and states across the country. Campaigns have organized
direct actions against employers and industries, fought for stronger legal protections at the state and
local level, and advocated to improve enforcement of existing laws.
Successful legislative campaigns have included, among other improvements:
Stricter penalties for violations
Stronger protections from employer retaliation
Increased funding for enforcement10
In spite of gains made around the country, however, wage theft remains rampant. Especially in this
political moment, strong enforcement is critical to fighting the Trump administration’s efforts to erode
worker rights and protections.
Lessons from the Field
3
This guide gathers lessons from successful campaigns, as well as sample materials from leading
advocates in the field, to support the growing network of organizations working to combat wage theft
and strengthen laws that protect workers from abuse.
Existing resources, such as “Winning Wage Justice: An Advocate’s Guide to State and City Policies
to Fight Wage Theft” by the National Employment Law Project, provide in-depth analysis of cutting-
edge substantive legal reforms to pursue as part of a wage theft campaign.11 This guide complements
existing resources about policy priorities by focusing instead on the how of launching and winning
high-impact campaigns to combat wage theft. Gathered here are best practices for planning,
strategizing, and executing a state or local wage theft campaign.
We seek to explain how an organization or coalition can best build and maximize its resources and
capacities to:
Pursue the most effective political strategy
Incorporate worker participation and leadership at all stages of the campaign
Build and maintain the most powerful and effective coalition
Identify and conduct the necessary research
Develop and execute a strong communications strategy
Win policy change at the state and local level
Ensure the successful implementation and enforcement of new wage theft laws
This guide is intended to be a point of entry for organizers and organizations that are planning
to launch a wage theft campaign, as well as a resource for established campaigns or coalitions.
Due to the contextualized nature of campaign planning, much of the content is presented in general
terms. We encourage you to contact the Center for Popular Democracy, as well as organizations
referenced throughout this guide, for technical advice and support as you build your wage theft
coalition and campaign.
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
4
Getting Started:
Campaign Planning
Lessons from the Field
5
A thoughtful campaign plan can serve as an important resource throughout the life of a campaign,
establishing a shared understanding of goals and priorities, and facilitating the work needed
to implement policy victories. As explored below, an effective campaign plan is grounded in a
sophisticated Power Analysis. What are your coalition’s existing sources of power, and what will it
take to overcome opposition and win? Even the best policy goals cannot be realized if you are unable
to rally sufficient power to beat back the business opposition you will always face.
A campaign plan lays the foundation for building the power of allies, moving campaign targets
toward positions of support, and reducing the power of opponents. The framework outlined below
provides a structure for the campaign planning process. These activities can be done internally as
an organization and/or as a full coalition. They are excellent political education activities to do with
impacted workers, building their leadership from the start in the campaign. The best plans are living
documents that can be nimbly adjusted in response to campaign successes, shifting political realities,
and organizational changes.
Campaign Planning: A Six-Step Framework
While every campaign is specific to the legal, political, and economic context from which it originates,
there are core campaign plan building blocks that are useful across campaigns. The following six-step
framework provides a series of guiding questions and tools to develop your wage theft campaign plan.
The six steps are as follows:
1) Assess the local landscape and your organizational capacity
2) Define a campaign goal
3) Identify the target, your allies and opponents, and conduct a Power Analysis
4) Define your Win Theory
5) Do the Tactics and Timeline Exercise
6) Develop and refine your Campaign Work Plan
1. Assess the local landscape and your organizational capacity
An in-depth analysis of the local political landscape and your own organizational capacity will help
shape the foundation of your wage theft campaign. It will help determine what legislative policy—or
other type of campaign goal—to pursue, as well as where and how to focus your resources. CPD
has developed a tool, called the Wage Theft Landscape Analysis, to facilitate this type of inquiry. It
includes a series of detailed questions and considerations in the following areas:
Current context in your state or city
Organizational goals and/or interests
Industry and sector analysis
Existing legal framework
Emerging legal issues
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
6
Allies and opponents
Structural questions
Service provision to support the organizing
Funding and resources
Find the full version of the document in the Appendix.
In the context of limited resources, organizations often need to choose between different priorities.
Launching a new legislative or policy campaign may seem daunting because of the resources it
requires. However, in addition to the potential for broad and lasting impact, legislative and policy
campaigns can also build on other organizational priorities without superseding them.
Case Study:
Balancing Organizational Priorities at Arise Chicago
Arise Chicago’s Worker Center had a long and successful track record of organizing direct actions
to hold employers accountable for their treatment of workers, especially around wage theft. In
considering what the city could do to address the problem of wage theft, Arise took the lead in
passing a 2013 ordinance that allows the city to revoke the business licenses of employers found
guilty of wage theft.12 Arise maintained its core organizational focus on worker organizing and direct
action in order to pursue this goal, and has continued to engage directly with employers. But the
policy reform enhanced the efficacy of worker organizing by increasing workers’ leverage against
employers. Having such an ordinance on the books also increased the Illinois Department of Labor’s
leverage: the agency’s citations to Chicago-based employers now contain a reference to the
ordinance and the possibility of the business losing its license, improving their ability to settle with
employers. Arise successfully achieved a policy goal that benefits workers throughout Chicago while
simultaneously supporting its core organizational goals. In 2015, Arise led the effort to successfully
pass a similar ordinance in Cook County, tying tax abatement benefits to employers’ compliance with
wage and hour laws.13
2. Define a campaign goal
The next step is to define your campaign goal. Legislative or policy campaigns seek to strengthen
legal protections against wage theft. Enforcement campaigns typically seek to enhance enforcement
of laws and regulations, and/or increase resources for enforcement. Industry-specific campaigns take
on a particularly egregious employer or set of employers, or work to clean up a particular industry. A
comprehensive campaign may combine any or all three approaches.
Your campaign goal should be ambitious enough to make significant change in peoples lives and
address the root causes of wage theft, but also focused enough that you can realistically win the
campaign. Your analysis of the local reality and your organizational capacity should guide you towards
the right balance between these two criteria.
Additional criteria for a good campaign goal include whether this campaign will:
1) Result in a real improvement in peoples lives
2) Be winnable
3) Give people a sense of their own power
Lessons from the Field
7
4) Alter the relationships of power so that workers have a real voice in the workplace
5) Be widely and deeply felt by workers and their families
6) Be easy to understand by those who have a direct stake in the campaign’s outcome
7) Target a clear decision-maker
8) Have a clear time frame that works for you
9) Set your organization up for the next campaign by expanding your membership and
building members’ leadership skills, helping your organizations raise resources, and/or
strengthening relationships with allies and elected officials
10) Be consistent with your organizational values and vision14
3. Identify the target, your allies and opponents, and conduct a Power Analysis
The third step in campaign planning is to conduct a more focused analysis of local actors that hold
power—in other words, to map out the target, your allies, and your opponents, and to conduct a
Power Analysis. Note, an initial version of a Power Analysis can be a helpful step while you are
defining the campaign goal since setting a realistic yet ambitious goal depends on the amount of
power you have to win it. Ideally, your campaign coalition would conduct an initial Power Analysis at
step two, then revisit/refine it once you have a more fully-defined campaign goal and are revisiting the
specific campaign targets. This six-step sequence is a suggestion but not the rule.
Identify your targets. Campaign targets are the individuals or institutions with the power and
authority to enact your wage theft proposal. If your campaign goal is to pass city legislation, for
example, then your targets will likely include the members of the city council and the mayor.
Map your relative power and that of your allies and opponents. Mapping exercises help
you visualize different actors’ power relative to one another, and to you. You can use a conceptual
tool, such as the Power Analysis Grid developed by SCOPE (available below), to chart the relative
power of your organization, your coalition and its members, other allies, potential opponents, and the
targets themselves.15
POWER
ANALYSIS
GRID
Die
Hard
Die
Hard
Active
Support
Active
Support
Inclined
Towards
Inclined
Towards
2
Not on Radar
3
Can Get Attention
4
Taken into Account
6
Power to have
Major Influence on
decision-making
Vertical Axis:
Amount
of Power
Horizontal Axis:
Position of Perspective
on competing Agendas
8
Active Participant
in Decision-making
10
Decisive
Decision making
Power or Influence
SOCIAL JUSTICE
AGENDA
COMPETING AGENDA,
POSITIONS, POLICIES, ETC b7 OPPOSING
AGENDA
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
8
Conduct a targeting exercise. Once you have a visual representation of the local actors (based on your
power analysis) you may need additional research in order to understand the relationships between relevant
people and institutions, and to assess levels of influence.
Once this research has been conducted, you should answer the following questions regarding how to
influence your campaign target:
Who is your target and what do they care about? (Maybe your target is an elected official running for
re-election, for example.)
What kind of resources and power do you have? (The ability to mobilize people, to organize direct
actions, to get media attention, etc.)
What kind of resources and power do your allies have? (Maybe they have the political power to
influence your target, for instance.)
What will it take to force your target to advance your campaign goal? Are there strategies you can use
that neutralize your opponents (either by speaking to their concerns or by rendering them ineffective
advocates for their position)?
Do you have the resources needed to influence your target? If not, who does? How can you leverage
your resources (power, relationships, etc.) to influence your target?
4. Define your Win Theory
Assessing the local landscape, doing a Power Analysis, and completing the targeting exercise all build the
foundation for the campaigns Win Theory. The primary goal of the Win Theory is to answer the question:
Given the resources available to your organization, coalition, and allies, what do you need to do to achieve your
campaign goal? Put another way, how can you amass sufficient power to overcome the opposition and how
will you deploy that power most effectively to reach victory?
Your Win Theory may include a number of strategic approaches that complement each other, or serve as
alternatives to each other, depending how the campaign takes shape. For example, WASH NY, a campaign
to address wage theft in the car wash industry in New York City, developed a Win Theory that included
the following:
A citywide movement of car wash workers organizing union drives, to exert
industry-wide pressure
Support from a broad coalition including faith leaders, elected officials, unions and
community organizations
Incentives for “high road employers” to come into compliance (e.g., public support
for high road employers)
Collaboration with government agencies to crack down on wage and hour violations
Citywide legislation to reform the car wash industry
See their complete Win Theory in the Appendix.
An optional step at this point is to craft a Strategy Narrative, which is more detailed than the Win Theory,
incorporates information from your assessment of the local landscape and Power Analysis, and tells the story
Lessons from the Field
9
of how the campaign will move from its current state to achieving its goals. A Strategy Narrative
should include detailed information about:
Who is involved
What the campaign aims to achieve
The projected timeline
How the campaign will be successfully executed
The rational for undertaking your specific fight
The Strategy Narrative can serve as a grounding document and a guidepost throughout the campaign.
It can be used to help onboard new staff and allies as the campaign generates more support, and to
raise funds for the campaign. As with other campaign planning documents, the Strategy Narrative can
be revisited at regular intervals and revised to reflect new political and organizational realities.
For a sample Strategy Narrative, please contact the Center for Popular Democracy.
5. Identify Tactics and Timeline
Before developing your Campaign Work Plan, it is helpful to identify your campaign’s tactics
and timeline.
Step 1: Brainstorm tactics to achieve campaign goal
Start by brainstorming as many tactics that advance your interim and long-term goals as you can.
Tactics may have different targets, and can range from public protest of employers guilty of wage
theft, to placing op-eds by worker leaders in popular local newspapers, to releasing reports that
document the prevalence of the problem. Then choose your top five to ten tactics based on the
following criteria:
Is this tactic based on your Win Theory? How will it help you win your campaign? For example,
if your Win Theory focuses on changing the position of a potential ally in the legislature, does
a tactic focused on supporting high road employers align with that goal? It may, for example,
if the targeted high road employers are vocal members of that legislator’s district. It may not if
the employers are opponents of your target.
Is this tactic aligned with your organization’s culture and experience? Does it reflect your
values? Some tactics, such as targeting legislators up for re-election, may be effective but may
not fit with your organization’s non-partisan mission.
Will it build your members’ leadership skills and strengthen your organizational capacity? A
tactic focused on cultivating “grass-tops” leaders may help build the coalition’s strength, but
may not do much to build your longer-term organizational capacity or reputation, or to create
space for worker leadership.
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
10
Step 2: Sequence tactics into peaks
Create a campaign timeline by strategizing backwards. How will you organize your tactics over time to
achieve your campaign goal?
Determine a peak goal for each tactic. A peak is often an event or actiona press conference
to release a report, for example, or a march against wage theft. Each peak should have its own
measurable outcome. What kind of press do you want to generate by releasing the report, for
example, or how many people will participate in the march?
Your campaign should gain power and build capacity over time. Your tactics should therefore escalate
over time, and each peak should build on what came before, culminating with your campaign goal.
Starting with your campaign goal (strategic goal), work backwards to sequence your peaks and tactics
on a campaign timeline see example below.
6. Develop your Campaign Work Plan
Now its time to develop your Campaign Work Plan. This key document details how you will put your
campaign strategy into practice. There are many ways to organize a Campaign Work Plan, but the
primary purpose is to have a clear and shared sense of who is doing what and when, and how the
different pieces of the campaign fit together. The campaign plan will be tailored to the specific needs
of your campaign, but generally incorporates:
A staffing plan and/or organizational or coalition chart, which show the personnel required to
achieve campaign goals
An explanation of the decision-making structure and/or chain of accountability
A calendar or timeline that allows you to organize the sequence of campaign events while also
visually depicting which campaign activities can be pursued simultaneously
Foundation
Kick-o goal
Peak goal
Peak goal
Strategic goal
Evaluation &
next steps
PEAKS AND TACTICS SEQUENCE
Sample campaign plan template (see Appendix)
Make the Road New York/Wage Theft Prevention Act campaign plan (see Appendix)
RESOURCES
Lessons from the Field
11
Building Worker Leadership in Campaigns
The most successful wage theft campaigns are based on workers’ experiences. Workers know
that wage theft is a common problem, they may be able to identify bad actors, and their ability to
directly share their stories of the impact of wage theft on their families is the most powerful tool in
your campaign. Wage theft campaigns often begin as direct actions against a particular employer
to pressure them to pay unpaid wages, and then develop into broader campaigns to clean up an
entire industry, to win legislative reforms, or to increase state and local resources for wage theft
enforcement. For workers’ centers and community-based organizations, it is important to integrate
the meaningful participation of workers into your campaign plan materials to ensure that your
campaign is truly grounded in workers’ needs and demands. This is especially important if the
campaign develops into a policy or budget fight that will be waged in arenas that may be less familiar
to workers. Campaign plans should include clear roles for workers in developing and executing
campaign strategy and tactics, decision-making, and speaking publicly about the campaign. For
advocacy, policy, and legal service organizations that are part of wage theft campaigns but do not
work directly with community members, it’s worth considering your relationship to membership-
based organizations. This will help to ensure that the overall campaign strategy prioritizes the
experience and leadership of those most acutely affected by wage theft.
Case Study:
Worker Participation at Make the Road New York
New Yorks Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2010 (WTPA)
remains one of the strongest anti-wage theft laws in the
country. It increased penalties and damages for violations,
improved protections for workers who stand up for their
rights, made it easier to collect judgments against violators,
and empowered the New York State Department of Labor
with new tools.16 Since its passage, the New York Coalition
Against Wage Theft has focused on implementation of the
WTPA and on the passage of a subsequent bill (in 2014)
with other key provisions, such as increased penalties for
repeat offenders and personal liability for unpaid wages by
a company’s largest shareholders.
Make the Road New York (MRNY),17 which led the WTPA campaign, is a membership-based
organization. It first began focusing on wage theft prevention because members of its workers’
committee were deeply concerned about the prevalence and severity of wage theft.
MRNY has a number of issue-based committees. In addition to workers’ rights, these issue
areas include immigration, education, housing, and LGBTQ justice. In addition to weekly committee
meetings, leadership teams made up of the most active members of each committee meet monthly
to discuss campaign planning and strategy. MRNY’s legal and organizing staff also conduct regular
campaign meetings, and proposals emerging from member or staff meetings can be brought
from one forum to the other for further consideration. In order to ensure worker engagement in
key decisions even when the campaign requires a rapid response, two members of the leadership
team are elected as point people to be consulted when there is not enough time to convene the
whole team.
“Its important in any
campaign to have community
members leading because
they’re representing their
own story, they have
ownership and a desire to
create change…I believe that
every person is a leader
that they each possess
leadership within.
—Nieves Padilla, Organizer at
Make the Road New York
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
12
Members of MRNY’s workers’ committee were engaged in almost every aspect of the WTPA
campaign planning and execution. Workers’ on-the-ground experiences with wage theft served to
document the problem and lend insight about which reforms could be most effective, which in turn
influenced the content of the bill. When workers told their stories, it highlighted the human impact of
wage theft and helped frame the issue by focusing on the worst offenders. Workers also engaged
in direct action against employers and lobbied local legislators and government agencies throughout
the campaign. They spoke at press conferences, were quoted in press releases, and engaged directly
with the media. Workers conducted outreach and education with MRNYs membership as well as
in the broader community, both during the campaign and after the legislation went into effect, to
explain the legal protections contained in the new law. Workers also demonstrated their power as
constituents, signaling to elected officials that their electoral base was paying close attention to this
issue. Worker participation in community outreach and education, mobilizations, press relations,
research, and political lobbying was critical to the campaign’s success, as well as providing invaluable
experiential learning and building organizational capacity for future campaigns.18
Credit: Make the Road New York
Lessons from the Field
13
Rafael became a member of MRNY in 2007 after
experiencing an accident at his construction job,
where he worked 80, 90, sometimes even 100
hours per week and was never compensated
for overtime, where he was denied protective
equipment like masks and gloves, and where his
hours would be cut as a punishment for taking
sick time. Rafael was looking for a lawyer who
could help him, when a friend told him about an
organization in Bushwick that helped workers with
these issues.
Rafael got help with his legal case, but he did
not stop there. He became an active member of
the organization and has since participated in a
number of campaigns, including the campaigns
to pass New York State’s WPTA, New York City’s
Paid Sick Day legislation, and a fight to maintain
rent stabilization. Rafael spoke to the press about
his personal experiences and conducted outreach
in the community to inform others about these
important fights. Rafael attends weekly committee
meetings even though he has to travel up to an hour
to get there, and has arrived as early as 5am to
attend actions before starting his workday at 7am.
To Rafael, being a member of MRNY means that
he participates actively, attending committee
meetings as well as rallies and marches. Just as
importantly, however, it means that he shows up
to support and guide his peers. Through MRNY,
Rafael has met workers in a number of dierent
industries—including domestic workers, restaurant
workers, car washers, and delivery workers—who
have all experienced wage theft or retaliation at
work and need information about how to recover
their wages. Because Rafael received the help he
needed, he is now committed to helping others in
similar situations.
Rafael reflects on the wage theft win, “Before the
[Wage Theft Prevention Act], we weren’t really
able to speak up in the workplace…Thanks to the
law, now we’re able to speak up.”
Worker Profile: Rafael Navor, MRNY19
Campaign Planning Toolbox (see Appendix)
Wage Theft Landscape Questions, Center for Popular Democracy
Power Mapping Exercise, SCOPE
Win Theory, WASH NY
Tactics and Timeline Exercise
Campaign Plans
Sample Campaign Template
Make the Road New York/Wage Theft Prevention Act Campaign
RESOURCES
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
14
Getting Started:
Building Your
Coalition
Lessons from the Field
15
It is rare for a single organization to win a campaign on its own, due to limitations in organizational
resources, staffing capacity, and political influence. Working with allies in a coalition is a way to
maximize local, regional, and national power, thereby increasing the ability to win campaigns beyond
the organizational resources of any individual coalition member.
Forming a Coalition
Build your coalition according to your campaign strategy. Your campaign strategy and
power analysis should guide you in terms of who you need in your coalition—organizations or
labor unions with the political clout to move your target, faith leaders to lend moral authority,
etc. You should also assess the particular skills and expertise that your coalition would benefit
from. Different allies will have a variety of invaluable strengths to offer a campaign, such as a
large worker membership, powerful political allies, strategic media connections, or extensive
research capacity. The size and type of coalition you build will depend on what you seek to win
and how much power is required to win.
Start with existing relationships. Coalitions that address workers’ rights typically involve
some combination of worker centers, labor unions, legal advocacy groups, faith-based
organizations or congregations, immigrant rights organizations, and local or national policy and
research organizations. You likely have a number of these connections already, and can reach
out to these organizations to begin building your coalition.
Policy and research organizations can help with campaign research, data analysis, and publicly-
facing publications to make the case for your campaign demands. For example, in the midst
of the campaign to pass Colorado’s 2014 Wage Protection Act, the Colorado Fiscal Institute
published “Wage Non-Payment in Colorado: Workers Lost $750 Million Per Year,” which
provided estimates of unpaid wages to Colorado workers and of the local economic impact of
lost sales tax, lost income tax, and lost employer contributions to unemployment insurance.20
In 2012, the Oregon Center for Public Policy, a member of the Oregon Coalition to Stop Wage
Theft, published a fact sheet called “Evidence of Widespread Wage Theft,” presenting local
wage theft data and documenting the inadequacy of available remedies.21 Some research
and policy organizations will join wage theft coalitions, although it can also be strategically
advantageous for them to undertake research projects and issue reports as an independent
third-party validator.
Wage theft lends itself to building broad coalitions. Wage theft is widely perceived as
morally reprehensible, and is rampant in many industries across the country. Because of this,
wage theft coalitions are uniquely positioned to draw diverse members, including groups that
may not typically engage in worker issues. For example, responsible employers and unionized
businesses may want to highlight their competitive disadvantage in the face of widespread
wage theft. Religious leaders often view the fight against wage theft as a moral issue that
speaks to the core of their faith. Religious and business leaders in your coalition can allow
you to reach a broader audience, increase the campaigns political leverage, and provide new
access to your target.
Connecting with groups that are pursuing adjacent goals is another way to broaden your
campaign. For example, many workers who are affected by wage theft are also affected
by inadequate occupational health and safety protections. See the Center for Progressive
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
16
Reform’sWinning Safer Workplaces” to learn about local and state level laws and policies
that can better protect workers from occupational safety and health hazards.22
Coalition Structures and Systems
Consider “inside” versus” outside strategies. Depending on the nature of your campaign,
you may pursue a largely “inside” strategy (working behind the scenes to lobby legislators,
business leaders, and other influential players), an “outside” strategy (generating media
attention and public pressure on employers, politicians, and other opponents), or a combination
of the two. Consider identifying which members of the coalition will lead the inside strategy,
which will lead the outside strategy. For example, a “field and communications” subgroup
of the larger coalition could lead the outside strategy while a “policy and politics” committee
could manage the inside strategy, with regular communication between these groups.
Decide who will staff the coalition. Some coalitions identify staff from several core
organizations who each commit a percentage of their time to the campaign. One advantage
of this structure is that core member organizations remain actively invested in campaign
activities. Other coalitions hire dedicated staff to run the campaign. This could include
a campaign director as well as skills-based staff, such as a full-time attorney to work on
legislative drafting and lobbying, or someone with specific communications skills. An
advantage of this approach is that it draws on the expertise of those with the most relevant
experience.
Establish a decision-making body. Some wage theft coalitions use a steering committee
structure, appointing a small, clearly defined group of representatives who are charged
with reaching decisions relatively quickly through consensus or by vote. Decision-making
structures will also be most effective when they take into account the relative power of
coalition members and their investment in the campaign. Otherwise, you may face a scenario
in which the coalitions strategy can’t be accomplished because the organizations essential
to executing it are insufficiently committed to, or actively oppose, the strategy. Identifying
differences in power (level of funding, constituency size, connections to those in power, etc.)
and organizational investment in the campaign (in terms of staff allocation, funding, or political
capital) among coalition members early, and being honest about how those differentials
canand perhaps shouldimpact how decisions are made, and will make the coalition more
effective in the long run. Whatever the structure, it is important to have a clear process for
decision-making from the beginning, as this will help minimize unnecessary conflict when
important decisions have to be made quickly.
Establish mechanisms for internal communication. Internal communication could consist
of regular calls for all coalition members, with separate calls for certain topical subgroups.
Periodic in-person meetings or email updates from coalition staff can complement coalition
calls. The frequency of communication typically changes over the course of the campaign and
as the legislative season gains momentum.
Engage non-committee members. One trade-off to the efficiency of a small decision-
making body is that coalition members not on the steering committee often become less
engaged with the campaign. To avoid this, build in mechanisms for regular communication
out to the broader coalition as well as for broader engagement in strategy and coalition work.
Lessons from the Field
17
Accommodate multiple languages. Make sure to plan and budget for translation and
interpretation to meet the language needs of all coalition members, recognizing that those
most impacted by wage theft, and who should therefore play leadership roles in the
campaign, may feel less able to engage if meetings are all in English.
Case Study:
The DC Wage Theft Prevention Act: Formation of the Coalition
DC’s Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2014 (WTPA, effective February 2015)
Increases penalties for employers who violate wage and hour laws
Provides anti-retaliation protections for workers
Establishes a formal hearing process with enforceable judgments
Improves access to legal representation for workers who experience wage payment violations
DCs Wage Theft Coalition, which led the campaign for the WTPA, was born out of the Just
Pay Coalition, a group of nonprofits, unions, service providers, worker centers, and community
organizations dedicated to promoting workplace justice in DC. The Just Pay Coalition had recently
won minimum wage and paid sick time campaigns. The Wage Theft Coalition was comprised of
many of the same groups but also included a number of new organizations and unions specifically
interested in fighting wage theft.
The wage theft fight was led by the DC Employment Justice Center (EJC) and DC Jobs With Justice
(DC JWJ). These two groups were natural leaders because of their specific experience with wage
theft; DC JWJ had been organizing day laborers at Home Depot (who often experience wage theft),
and a significant percentage of the cases received through EJC’s legal clinic were related to wage theft.
As coalition leaders, EJC and DC JWJ worked to ensure that there was sufficient commitment
and shared responsibility among all members. However, the structure of the coalition was kept
intentionally loose, which enabled varied amounts of accountability and responsibility to be distributed
among members based on capacity and resources. EJC and DC JWJ provided individualized support
to members, tracked organizational commitments, and facilitated communication across the coalition.
Strategic decisions, however, were made through consensus by the whole group.23
Coalition Building Toolbox
Making the Case for Campaign Demands:
Wage Non-Payment in Colorado: Workers Lost $750 Million Per Year,”
Colorado Fiscal Institute
Evidence of Widespread Wage Theft,” Oregon Center for Public Policy
Drawing from Adjacent Agendas:
Winning Safer Workplaces,” Center for Progressive Reform
RESOURCES
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
18
Getting Started:
Research
Lessons from the Field
19
Strategic research is crucial to a successful campaign in a number of ways, including:
Understanding and documenting the problem
Identifying primary and secondary targets and how to influence them
Identifying employers that commit egregious labor violations and uncovering their
worst practices
Developing effective messages
Some community organizations fall into the trap of thinking that research is either too difficult
or not necessary for their campaign. However, strategically conducted research can be critical
to a campaign’s success. Your organization likely already has a great deal of institutional knowledge.
Local and national policy and research organizations might be able to provide the expertise beyond
your current organizational capacity, for example by locating local data to demonstrate the prevalence
of wage theft in your city or state, or by accessing government documents that shed light on local
enforcement practices. Your campaign will benefit from taking the time to consider the types
of information you want to highlight, how you might obtain resources, and your timeline for
gathering information.
Research Approaches
Background Research
Scan for readily accessible information. As with many research tasks, spending time
searching online for “wage theft” and wage theft in your state or city will quickly turn up a
variety of resources. Experiment with other general terms that could yield some baseline
information, such as “wages and hours” or “failure to pay overtime.” Once you have compiled
a list of useful search terms for your locality, set up a “Google alert” or a similar system that
can inform you whenever a relevant news story or other form of online content is published.
Pay particular attention to the websites of local agencies and government offices that
enforce wage and hour laws—these sites might contain useful information that you would not
find through a keyword search.
Consult policy and research organizations. Policy and research organizationsboth
local and nationalmay be valuable resources for your campaign. In addition to the Center
for Popular Democracy, other national organizations such as the National Employment Law
Project, Economic Policy Institute, the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN),
and Demos have published resources online and are available to provide assistance to state
and local campaigns. A local research institute might have access to data that is particularly
pertinent to your campaign.
State and Local Wage Theft Data
Leverage existing wage theft data. Data is a powerful tool for demonstrating the
pervasiveness of wage theft. Opponents who might try to minimize its impact will have a hard
time arguing with strong data. One of the largest-scale worker surveys on the topic, and most
commonly referenced examples of local wage theft data, is the National Employment Law
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
20
Projects (NELP) “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers,” a report documenting flagrant wage
theft among workers in Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.24 In 2017 the Economic
Policy Institute released a report that looks closely at minimum wage violations and quantifies
the impact on workers in the 10 most populous states: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.25 Other smaller-scale
analyses have been conducted to estimate the impact of wage theft in specific cities and
states or specific industries. For example, the Colorado Fiscal Institute produced an analysis,
Wage Nonpayment in Colorado: Workers Lose $750 Million Per Year,” that estimates the
impact of wage theft in Colorado, extrapolating from the NELP study.26 Before starting your
own research, be sure to identify what existing efforts, if any, have been undertaken to collect
wage theft data in your city or state.
Field Research
If there is no existing local wage theft data, you may consider conducting some field research of
your own. There are many research methods to consider, each with their own set of advantages
and challenges.
Participatory Action Research (PAR). PAR is a community-based approach to research
that involves community members in all phases of the project—from formulating research
questions, to gathering data, to data analysis. In the wage theft context, a PAR strategy might
involve collaborating with impacted workers to draft survey questions, interview workers,
and analyze the survey responses. PAR leverages the local knowledge of those impacted by
a particular issue to increase the relevance of survey questions. Workers themselves may
know what forms of wage theft are prevalent in a particular industry and are well equipped to
formulate questions that will best elicit responses from other workers. It also may increase
the accuracy and volume of responses, as workers may be more inclined to share information
with their peers rather than outsiders. Funders may also be interested in supporting PAR
because of its worker-driven and participatory nature. In addition to providing new data, PAR
is an effective tool for organizing workers, building leadership, and developing organizational
capacity. PAR is a lengthy and resource-intensive process, however. The time and expense
may be well worth the outcome, but must be weighed against other priorities and with
attention to the campaigns calendar.
Polling data and focus groups. There is little-to-no professional polling data on wage
theft issues (as compared to minimum wage or paid sick leave). Though this type of data
is particularly useful for persuading elected officials, it is typically far too expensive for
community-based organizations to conduct polls. Focus groups are an alternative to polling,
and can be conducted with or without professional assistance. If you choose to conduct focus
groups, you might consider partnering with an experienced research group that frequently
works with grassroots and nonprofit organizations.
See the Urban Justice Project Community Development Projects “Research for Organizing
for a comprehensive guide to Participatory Action Research.27
RESOURCES
Lessons from the Field
21
Incorporating wage theft questions in related surveys. Keep an eye out for organizations
or institutions that are launching related surveys about workers’ rights or working conditions,
and ask if they would be willing to incorporate a few questions about wage theft. For example,
a local policy institute might conduct a survey on health and safety, but may be willing to add
an additional question about unpaid overtime. Though this research strategy will limit the
amount of information gathered, it could yield useful data at little or no cost. Depending on the
reputation of the organization or institution, it could also serve as a validator of the data and the
campaign more generally.
Accessing Public Records
Freedom of information requests. Federal and state freedom of information laws,
sometimes called sunshine or open records laws, provide any person the right to access
agency records that are not protected from public disclosure but may be otherwise impossible
to obtain. An agency’s website should contain information about the types of records they
maintain, and any of these records can be requested. For example, you could make a request
to the local wage and hour law enforcement agency for all records relating to investigated
wage theft claims including the amount of wages, damages, and penalties collected, the
number of open cases, the number of investigators and other staff, and information on the
agency’s budget. Keep in mind that requested documents might be hundreds of pages long
and will need to be dissected for relevant information. This is often a good project to be
pursued in collaboration with a law school or legal clinic. When considering filing a request, it
is also important to note that you may incur fees, so budget for this in your campaign plan. In
some cases, the process is lengthy and you might not receive your request quickly enough
for campaign purposes. Still, the very act of making the request sends a message to local
enforcers that their activities are being observed, which can in itself serve a strategic purpose.
Keep tabs on the “State Voices Networka network of grassroots organizations that join
together in their states to plan and share resources at the state level—for opportunities
for collaboration.28
RESOURCES
See the National Freedom of Information Coalition’s State Sample FOIA Request Letters for
sample language.29
RESOURCES
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
22
When making your request, maintain a focus on
what you hope to demonstrate.
Do you want to show that wage theft is a
rampant problem?
Ask for the total number of cases filed and resolved
over the last decade and amount of any judgments
issues against employers.
Do you want to know how widespread wage theft
is in your locality, and who the worst actors are?
Ask for lists of employers with judgments issued
against them, their addresses, and the total
amount of the judgment of each.
Do you want to demonstrate that more eective
enforcement is needed?
Ask for current and historical information
about the backlog of cases, the total amount of
judgments issued, the total actually collected from
employers, the total enforcement budget, and
the number of investigators. This information can
show, for example, how funding and stang have
not kept pace with the caseload.
Examples of FOIA Requests for a Wage Theft Campaign:
Opposition Research
Identify your opponents. When you did your power analysis, you should have identified
organizations and individuals who oppose your position on wage theft. Opponents may range
from particular local employers, to funders of your local, state, and national political opponents.
You may already know a great deal about the worst offending employers or industries in your
city and state, but perhaps you lack documentation beyond word of mouth. The background
and legal methods already discussed will yield some of this information, but you can also
research companies and industries through online tools such as the Good Job Now’s Dirt
Diggers Digest Guide to Strategic Corporate Research30 and databases like the Violation
Tracker31 and Subsidy Tracker.32 For greater investigative expertise you may want to contact
national or local unions in the industry, watchdog organizations that track sources of political
and financial support for anti-worker interests, such as the Center for Media and Democracy,33
or social justice research hubs like CPD.
Lessons from the Field
23
Research Partnerships
Partnerships can be invaluable to research, as published reports documenting the issue of wage theft
authored by institutions not part of the coalition are more effective in persuading decision-makers.
Policy and research entities. Continue to engage policy and research entities beyond the
background research stage. A research or policy institute can be a valuable ally or partner in a
wage theft coalition and can help draw attention to local data and the impact of wage theft on
workers and the overall economy.
Universities and academics. College and university professors may have knowledge of
ongoing studies or existing research that is useful in the early stages of your campaign.
Developing relationships with local academics might also lead to more significant research
assistance down the road. Individual professors who are supportive of the campaign goals
or engaged in related research may be able to produce original campaign-related research, or
even design a course with an experiential or research component structured around your wage
theft campaign. This type of arrangement enables a professor to focus concentrated time on
your research, while offering students a unique on-the-ground learning experience. Keep in
mind, though, that academics often have long timelines that do not always match the tempo
of a campaign calendar. Local law school clinics, where law students provide legal assistance
under the direct supervision of faculty, may offer legal research and other assistance at no
cost. University labor education centers are similarly valuable resources for research and
advocacy assistance. Furthermore, the participation of a college professor, academic center,
or law school clinic can serve as a validator for the campaign more generally. Professors
may also be aware of sources of funding for research that are less well-known outside the
academic world.
Keep an eye on major players. While conducting background research, keep an eye out
for prominent individuals who could play a role in your campaign strategy. Who has spoken
publicly about wage theft or related issues like minimum wage and paid sick leave? What
has been the primary focus on their engagement with workers’ rights? The answers to these
questions may enable you to involve some new and well-known allies in your campaign.
Fact sheets can be a helpful way to organize
information about a particularly egregious
employer that you want to highlight. The exercise
of creating a fact sheet will push you to condense
large volumes of research into one or two page
documents and to present information in discrete
and manageable categories. Below are some
elements that you might include in a fact sheet:
Basic employer information
Employer services and products
Description of the workforce
History of relationship between workers
and management
Summary of violations of workers’ rights
Details of any current disputes
Examples of Information on Employer Fact Sheets:34
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
24
Research Toolbox
National Research and Policy Organizations:
National Employment Law Project
Economic Policy Institute
Economic Analysis and Research Network
Demos
Center for Popular Democracy
Wage Theft Statistics:
Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers,” National Employment Law Project
Employers steal billions from workers’ paychecks each year,” Economic Policy
Institute.
Wage Nonpayment in Colorado: Workers Lose $750 Million Per Year,” Colorado
Fiscal Institute
Research Methods and Strategies:
Research for Organizing, Urban Justice Center Community Development Project
State Voices Network for opportunities for survey collaboration
State Sample FOIA Request Letters, National Freedom of Information Coalition
Opponent Research:
Dirt Diggers Digest Guide to Strategic Corporate Research, Corporate
Research Project
Subsidy Tracker, Good Jobs First
Violation Tracker, Good Jobs First
Center for Media and Democracy
RESOURCES
Lessons from the Field
25
Winning
The Campaign:
Communications
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
26
An effective communications strategy is a key component of a successful wage theft campaign. In
general, the role of communications is to educate policymakers and the public, build support about an
issue, convey a sense of urgency, signal opportunities for action, and shape an overall narrative. More
specifically, a successful communications strategy around wage theft should do the following:
Amplify your message about wage theft to build momentum for your campaign
Reach affected workers and potential allies to bring new people into the campaign
Influence decision-makers
Position your organization as a leader in combatting wage theft
Demonstrate the political importance and salience of wage theft as a galvanizing issue
As you develop your communications strategy, you should also answer the following questions:
What is the overall narrative of the campaign?
How will your communications strategy draw attention to the problem of wage theft and
highlight your proposed solutions (campaign demands)?
Who do you need to reach and how will you reach them?
How will you use individual stories to generate support and coverage?
After sharing a few examples of effective messaging around wage theft, this section will walk you
through shaping an overall narrative, crafting your message, deploying your message, developing
communications materials, and interacting with the press.
The term “wage theft” is itself a brilliant example of well-crafted communication. It was first coined
by the founding director of Interfaith Worker Justice, Kim Bobo, in her 2008 book Wage Theft in
America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting PaidAnd What We Can Do About It.35
It was an effective way to tie together a number of related labor violations (the nonpayment of wages,
failure to pay minimum wage, employee misclassification, etc.) as a form of robbery, and the first time
wage theft was framed as a crime warranting investigation and punishment.
The Healthy Nail Salons campaign, led by Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice, provides
us with a more recent example of the powerful impact of well-crafted messaging. Adhikaar is a
Queens-based community organization serving the Nepali-speaking community in New York City.
Its Healthy Nail Salons campaign has helped nail salon workers take legal action to fight wage theft,
successfully won back stolen wages, and fought for healthy nail salon legislation in the New York City
council.36 In 2015, the New York Times ran a feature on nail salon workers that elevated a number of
moving personal stories from salon workers and brought life to their challenges as victims of wage
theft.37 Several days later, Adhikaar released a groundbreaking report documenting long hours, low
pay, health and safety risks, and immigration and language barriers in the nail salon industry.38 Shortly
thereafter, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced emergency protection for nail salon workers, a
legislative and regulatory plan that included a number of Adhikaar’s proposed solutions. Governor
Cuomo also convened a multiagency taskforce to investigate nail salons, institute new rules to
protect salon workers from dangerous chemicals found in nail products, and inform workers of their
rights.39 In New York City, Mayor de Blasio announced that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs
would investigate the nail salon industry and inform workers of their rights.40 Adhikaar’s organizing,
Lessons from the Field
27
advocacy, and education work laid the groundwork, but obtaining in-depth coverage of the issue by a
prominent news outlet was critical in galvanizing the city and state to act.
Shaping an Overall Narrative
When you develop your communications strategy, you should consider the overall narrative you want to craft.
This narrative should be based on your campaign strategy, including the problems you have identified,
the solutions you are proposing, and your win theory.
The narrative should:
Include individual stories that highlight the injustice of wage theft and make the issue come alive
Communicate shared values that anchor your community
Convey an urgent challenge that you are calling on your community to respond to
Include a specific call to action
It should also connect the “head” and the “heart, 41 engaging people in both the intellectual and
emotional reasons why they should support your wage theft campaign.
Crafting Your Message
Define the Problem
An example of a topline message, or the main message you want to convey, is that wage theft is an urgent crisis
that hurts us all. By emphasizing and unpacking this message, you can reach your audiences more effectively.
Wage theft is an urgent crisis. Wage theft is an urgent matter affecting real people: when workers
are denied their due wages, they are unable to meet basic survival needs for themselves and their
families. Wage theft is also rampant. As often as feasible, include a line in your communication
materials about the prevalence of wage theft.
Wage theft hurts us all. Effective campaigns have framed wage theft as a problem that not only
harms workers and their families but also the broader community, the economy, and responsible
businesses. When wages are stolen, our economy suffers losses in consumer spending and tax
revenue. High road employers who follow the law are undercut by those who cheat and steal
from workers.
Law-abiding employers won’t face new burdens. It is also strategic to emphasize that law-abiding
businesses have nothing to fear, as cracking down on wage theft only impacts the bad actors that hurt
all of us.
It’s a moral issue. The moral case—that this is theft and should not be toleratedcan be especially
powerful when delivered by members of the faith community.
Wage theft hurts workers across the spectrum. An intentionally diverse set of “faces” for the
campaign, i.e. a range of impacted workers, will help show that wage theft is an issue that affects us
all, not just some groups of workers in specific areas.
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
28
Sample Messages:
“Because her wages were stolen, Susie May can’t put food on the table, buy school supplies for
her children, or pay her rent. And when the worst businesses steal wages and break the law, they
undercut responsible business owners, like Johnson’s Grocery, who play by the rules and pay
workers fairly.
“Law abiding businesses are at a competitive disadvantage against businesses that steal workers’
wages. Everyone in our communities is hurt when workers don’t have enough money to provide for
basic things like groceries and medical care.42
Define the Solution
Your communication materials should always highlight your campaign demands. An effective message
not only communicates the urgency of the problem, but also clearly articulates a course of action.
Sample Solutions:
Increased funding will lead to stronger enforcement of wage and hour laws, which will help prevent
wage theft and protect workers, our economy, and responsible businesses.
Putting a real price tag on wage theft is the only way to prevent it—protecting workers, our
economy, and responsible businesses.
Anticipate the Oppostition
As you develop your message, think ahead to what your opponents will say and anticipate their
arguments in your communication strategy and materials. For example:
Will the opposition say that wage theft is only an urban issue and therefore statewide burdens
on business do not make sense? Make sure you are equipped with stories from workers in
suburban or rural areas.
Will the opposition frame wage theft as a problem of “illegal” immigrants? Make clear that
undocumented workers are at risk, but include stories that show how workers of other
backgrounds are also affected. Arm yourself with an arsenal of stories from workers across the
racial, economic, geographic, and occupational spectrum.
Will business groups trot out a few “mom-and-pop” shops to complain that your proposal will
kill small business with onerous regulations? Talk about common sense rules that level the
playing field for the responsible businesses of our communities who struggle to compete with
the bad apples.
Will the opposition complain that this is just an attempt by plaintiffs’ lawyers to get rich by
drumming up frivolous litigation? Include stories about workers who go to the Department
of Labor because there are no lawyers to take their case, and how these proposals will help
government do its job better.
Lessons from the Field
29
Develop a Robust “Story Bank”
Prepare testimonies that demonstrate the credibility of your campaign and bring the issue of wage
theft alive by telling human stories. You can collect, vet, and edit testimonies from a variety of
campaign supporters, including workers, small business owners, unionized businesses, faith leaders,
and objective commentators (researchers, policy experts, etc.). Be sure to collect testimonies that
illustrate all of your campaigns main talking points.
Taking the time early in the campaign to craft these testimonies will help you prepare a variety
of speakers so that when asked by the press, you can quickly connect them to the appropriate
spokesperson. The testimonies, either in whole or in part, can be used in various ways including
in press releases, as background for reporters, in conversations with legislators, or as the basis for
legislative testimony. It is helpful to gather testimonies in multiple languages and/or translate your
story bank into relevant languages so they can be used with both English and non-English media.
Use Accessible Language
A vocabulary “cheat sheet” is a helpful tool for translating technical terms into concepts that are
accessible to a broader audience. “Increasing penalties and liquidated damages” could, for instance,
be expressed as “raising the price tag on breaking the law.” A wage lien could be described “as a way
to prevent the worst businesses from hiding their money to avoid paying workers.
Also remember that, in most instances, your job is to make the case for why you need to change the
law, rather than to explain the technical details of what the change actually is.
Deploying Your Message
Attract Media Attention
Present a unified message. A unified message can send a strong signal that a well-organized
fight to end wage theft is underway, particularly when delivered by a diverse campaign
coalition comprised of, for example, community organizations, faith-based groups, economic
experts, unions, and business groups. Elected officials and policymakers are more likely to act
when faced with a broad and diverse constituent base that is building momentum for reform.
Develop “newsworthy” events. A successful campaign will generate ongoing press
coverage throughout its duration, even during the nascent stages. To secure continued media
attention, plan a series of events that can be pitched as newsworthy stories at different points
along the campaign timeline. These events can highlight both inside strategies of advocating
with elected officials and outside strategies of building broad support. For instance, the
Employment Justice Center’s messaging
resource, “Protecting Wages: The EJC
Fights Wage Theft in D.C.43
CPD’s summary of best practices
for economic justice messaging (see
Appendix)
Examples of Wage Theft Messaging:
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
30
coalition might have a legislative briefing in the statehouse about their bill to strengthen wage
theft prevention mechanisms, and then a direct action outside an egregious employer’s place
of business.
When planning events:
Identify a location for your event that highlights your campaign narrative, but should also be
relatively close to media outlets or logistically convenient for reporters to travel to.
Consider what your props and visuals will look like on camera, and make sure they are visible
to the media team.
Identify and prep two to four impacted workers or staff who have been trained as
spokespeople and can give short interviews to reporters.
Alert the press in advance of the event. Two days in advance is a good rule of thumb, but you
might also want to resend your press advisory the morning of your event because many news
outlets decide day by day where to send reporters.
Credit: Make the Road New York
Lessons from the Field
31
February 21, 2014
By Tobias Salinger/Daily News
Wait sta and cooks in two Queens restaurants
say their wages are rotten.
Restaurant workers at Elias Corner Restaurant
for Fish in Astoria and Aqui en Bella Puebla in
Jackson Heights often go without minimum wage
or overtime, according to lawsuits.
Employees at the eateries are waiting for judgment
even though the state resolved 6,794 wage
complaints last year.
“These violations are rampant and there’s just
not enough enforcement either on the public
level or the private level to make a huge dent,”
said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, sta attorney at the
National Employment Law Project.
New York City’s 300,000 low-wage workers lose
$18.4 million per week in unpaid wages, according
to the advocacy group.
Three former employees of Elias Corner allege
their boss Ilias Sidiroglov owes them $350,000,
according to a lawsuit filed last year in Brooklyn
Federal Court. In 2003, Sidiroglov shelled out
$460,000 in lost wages to workers.
“My only conclusion is it makes financial sense for
him to handle these lawsuits every few years rather
than comply with wage laws,” said lawyer Justin
Zeller, who represents two cooks and a waitress.
Sidiroglov declined to comment.
About three miles away in Jackson Heights, former
waitress Claudia Leon says Aqui en Bella Puebla
paid her just $300 for a 48-hour week.
“The owner would say that, ‘this is one of the best
restaurants in the area, and if you don’t like it, you
can go somewhere else,’” said Leon, 36.
Leon is currently pursuing a lawsuit against owner
Argimiro Hernandez and planning a protest outside
the restaurant with Make the Road New York. She
has yet to file the suit.
Hernandez says she received her full wages.
No, she’s lying,” Hernandez said.
Example of a Newsworthy Event:
“Queens restaurant workers struggling with wage theft44
See below for an example of a news article about a wage theft event, pitched as a news hook about
two bad employers, but to draw attention to the broader wage theft campaign.
Release compelling statistics. Leverage available data to show that billions in wages are
stolen each year and to highlight the negative impact on workers, responsible businesses, and
the economy. Key data points and statistics should become a consistent part of the campaign
message and incorporated into briefings and meetings with elected officials, allies, coalition
partners, and other target audiences, but should be used in conjunction with powerful stories
and testimonies about the impact of wage theft on real people.
As mentioned previously, if local data does not already exist, a credible research or policy
group may be able to help with a report or policy brief. Releasing a report may be enough to
generate media coverage on its own, but can be even more powerful if the report is released
in conjunction with another event that highlights wage theft, such as a protest at an employer
who owes workers unpaid wages, or a lobby day at the state capitol.
See the Employment Justice Center’s statistics.45
See the UCLA Labor Center’s statistics.46
Examples of Wage Theft Statistics:
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
32
Leverage the current political landscape. Capitalize on related news events, which might
present opportunities to deploy your own message. For example:
When a settlement or lawsuit alleging wage theft makes the news, issue a press
statement noting the importance of strengthening the laws to prevent such abuse.
When official unemployment statistics are released, publish an op-ed that discusses the
need not only to create more jobs, but also to ensure that new jobs actually deliver the
promised wages.
When there is a minimum wage increase, make the case that a higher minimum wage will
only be meaningful if we crack down on wage theft, because unscrupulous employers pay
less than the minimum wage anyway.
See the Center for Popular Democracy’s report, “By A Thousand Cuts: The Complex Faces of Wage Theft in
New York,” which highlights egregious employers.48
Example of Targeting Top Oenders:
Many members of the DC Wage Theft Coalition,
led by the EJC, had previously been engaged in a
fight to raise the minimum wage. The minimum
wage increase was passed in 2012, three months
before the WTPA was introduced, allowing the
coalition to capitalize on this momentum. One of
the key talking points from the minimum wage fight
was that laws were not being adequately enforced,
and the coalition was able to leverage the broader
conversation about enforcement to its advantage.
Many elected ocials were also up for reelection,
so the coalition succeeded in making wage theft a
campaign issue. 47
Example of Leveraging the Political Landscape:
DC Wage Theft Coalition
Target top offenders. To highlight the scope and severity of the wage theft crisis, target
specific employers who have stolen large amounts of wages and/or are repeat offenders.
You or your allies might already know the worst actors in your industry or geographical area. If
not, you can file freedom of information requests of the local department of labor to learn of
employers found guilty of wage theft throughout your state. Highlighting top offenders can also
provide a tool for dispelling oppositional claims. Opponents may assert, for example, that it is
only small mom-and-pop shops that are inadvertently underpaying workers. By underscoring
rampant wage theft within major corporations, you could undercut that claim. Elected officials
might also interpret wage theft to be purely a “big city” problem. Finding targets across your
state with a track record of wage theft would dispel that myth.
Lessons from the Field
33
In 2014, Community Labor United (CLU) and the
Good Jobs, Strong Communities Coalition won
Boston’s Wage Theft Executive Order. The order
requires employers who wish to contract with
the city of Boston to report any history of wage
theft violations within the last three to five years.
If violations exist, the employer must obtain a
wage bond equal to one years worth of wages for
all employees. CLU has also passed wage theft
ordinances in several other multiple municipalities
in Massachusetts, including Chelsea, Cambridge,
Quincy, Worcester, Malden, and Northhampton,
and continues to work towards passing them in
other cities and towns.
The coalition continues to advance an ambitious
agenda to build on this win. For example, they are
seeking to address the misclassification of workers
as independent contractors with the Act to Prevent
Wage Theft and Promote Employer Accountability,
which clarifies who is ultimately responsible
for upholding fair labor standards at any given
workplace.50 In 2016, the legislation passed in the
Senate 38-2.
A key tactic has been to highlight bad actors
who are responsible for subcontracting and
misclassifying workers in order to ensure up-
the-chain accountability “from the companies
that initiate the demand for the work, to the
contractors coordinating the project and the
subcontractors who directly hire and supervise
workers.”51 They have pressured some of the
worst-oending companies by issuing “community
citations,” physical notices posted to the sites of
lead companies to ensure they know about the
violations committed by their subcontractors.
This has helped build a narrative around wage
theft, create momentum for the campaign, and
garner press attention. In addition, since the
primary employer only can be liable if they are
aware that the subcontractor is violating the law, it
is a necessary precondition for liability later down
the road.
For more information, see
stopmasswagetheft.org.52
Example of Targeting Top Oenders:
Community Labor United and the Good Jobs,
Strong Communities Coalition49
Credit: Community Labor United and the Good Job, Strong Communities Coalition
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
34
Demonstrate Credibility
Obtain support from influential figures. Announcing public support from influential labor unions,
economists, business groups, clergy, and other public figures can keep your campaign in the news and
demonstrate growing support to address the wage theft crisis. This can mean formal endorsements
and/or public figures joining you at a rally or other events.
Obtain endorsements from editorial boards. Elected officials and policymakers tend to pay close
attention to the editorial boards of top local newspapers, so it is valuable to your campaign to have
editorial boards speak out against wage theft. You can provide them with materials that highlight
your campaign messages and key statistics. Editorial boards are often willing to meet with advocacy
groups on major policy issues. You can reach out to introduce yourself to the editor, explain why your
issue is important, and request an in-person meeting. You might also adopt this approach with other
columnists, opinion writers, analysts, or local bloggers to see if they will endorse or highlight your
campaign goals.
Proposed Bill on Fighting Wage Theft is
Strong but Needs More Precision,” Los
Angeles Times Editorial Board53
Wage Theft Across the Board,” New York
Times Editorial Board54
Examples of Editorial Board Endorsements:
Developing Communications Material
Communications material are important not only for purposes of generating momentum and sharing
a message, but also because press can also help you get meetings with elected officials and move
targets. They can be used to educate elected officials on the issue of wage theft, move them to
action, and also reward them for strong leadership.
Printed Media
Media advisories and press releases
Media advisories are sent out in advance of a campaign event (press conference, action, etc.)
and offer only basic details on who, what, where, and when. They are used by reporters and
editors to plan news coverage. An advisory should be no more than half a page.
Press releases are sent out after a campaign event and they read like a news story. They
should have a strong headline, offer the key highlights in an opening paragraph, and then
segue into quotes from your campaign leaders, workers, and allies. Reporters should be able
to write their news story just from the release itself. In all materials for the press, be as clear
and concise as possible, and deliver the most important news upfront.
Lessons from the Field
35
Wage Theft Victims Rally in Protest of
Stolen Pay,” Employment Justice Center 55
News Report Shows Wage Theft Impacts
Workers’ Health,” UCLA Labor Center56
Examples of Media Advisories:
Op-ed articles and letters to the editor
Op-ed articles are opinion articles, usually 500800 words, written by a worker or a leader
or ally of your campaign. Op-eds present an argument that defines the core problem of wage
theft and offers your proposed solution. Most local and statewide papers accept op-ed articles.
Letters to the editor are much shorter—usually 100–150 words—and offer responses to
news articles. For example, when a news story on wage theft is published, you can respond
with letters to the editor from workers who reinforce that wage theft is a real problem in
your community. Letters to the editor also allow you to counter coverage that lifts up the
opposition’s position.
Guidelines to submit op-eds and letters to the editor are generally available on a
publication’s website.
Honoring Labor Day by Rooting Out
Wage Theft,” Eric Schneiderman in Hungton Post59
Example Op-Ed Article:
Wage Theft Costs American Workers
as much as $50 Billion a Year,” Economic
Policy Institute57
Mayor of Boston Issues Wage Theft
Executive Order,” City of Boston58
Letter to the Editor: Wage-theft by
employers need legislative remedy,” The
Washington Times.60
The moral imperative to end wage theft:
Guest opinion,” The Oregonian 61
Examples of Press Releases:
Examples of Letters to the Editor:
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
36
Social Media and Online Communication
Digital platforms are an important way to communicate information about your campaign, notify followers of victories
and developments, and ask supporters to take action. Consider developing several of the following tools as part of your
digital strategy, being mindful of the resources required to maintain them. For example, keeping one account up-to-
date might be preferable to having several poorly maintained accounts.
Campaign and existing organizational email lists. Building a database of supporters and allies is crucial
for keeping people informed about your campaign and mobilizing them to take action at key moments. Ask for
email addresses at every opportunity (campaign actions, meetings, etc.).
Website. A website with strong visuals and persuasive messaging can concretize your message and get the
word out about your campaign. All campaign press releases, email blasts, and social media content should
include a link to your website, and you should be sure that someone is tasked with maintaining and updating
the site. In general, a campaign page that is integrated within your organizational website can help build your
organization’s reputation and strengthen your other campaigns. You may consider creating a separate campaign
website if, for example, you are part of several coalitions and you want to differentiate the wage theft coalition
demands. For an example, see the Good Jobs, Strong Communities wage theft website.62
Facebook. A Facebook page is a useful tool for supporters to share content from your campaign with their
outside networks. This could include photographs, graphics, news stories, and calls to action. Facebook tends to
be a very visual medium, so focus on generating visual content and keep text to a minimum. The text of Facebook
posts should be succinct and action-oriented. Again, someone must be tasked with keeping the content fresh and
engaging. For an example, see the Los Angeles Coalition Against Wage Theft Facebook page.63
Twit ter. An active Twitter feed can attract the attention of
reporters and elected officials, and can activate supporters
at key moments in the campaign. “Twitter Actions” are
often used to promote a specific action—for example, you
could tweet @your governor urging them to support a bill
or @specific legislators requesting that they ask a specific
question in a hearing. You can also live tweet, or broadcast
in real time, from a rally, hearing, or other campaign events.
By using specific hashtags (#wagetheft #endwagetheft
#workersrights #oureconomy #allofus), you can create and
contribute to ongoing conversations. Note that Twitter is not
ideal for all communication needs, since messages must be
140 characters or less. For an example, see the Los Angeles
Coalition Against Wage Theft twitter feed.64
Instagram. Instagram is a useful tool for sharing lively and
action-oriented photos from your campaign’s biggest actions and events. Images that capture a memorable
event and invite a response often get the most traction. Similar to Twitter, Instagram photos are easily
searchable via hashtags and usernames, and clever captions can generate “likes” and “re-grams” (shares from
one user to the next). It is also easy to share visual content from Instagram to Facebook and Twitter.
Example Tweets:
89% of fast food workers have experienced
wage theft. This is why LA needs to
#EndWageTheft! #FightFor15
—Fight For $15 LA
Wage Theft is a Crime! 8 out of 10 workers in
LA has experienced some form of wage theft!
—End Wage Theft LA
@MaketheRoadNY Congrats Make the Road
NY! Your NY wage theft law at work protecting
restaurant workers from abuse!
—ROC United
Lessons from the Field
37
Interacting with the Press
Build strong relationships with the media. It is important to develop a broad and diverse
list of media contacts (including television, radio, print, and online outlets) and to establish
and maintain deeper relationships with reporters who cover topics relevant to your wage theft
campaign such as politics, the legislature, the economy, or labor issues in your area.
You can get to know the reporters who cover related events and/or reach out directly
to relevant reporters.
Maintain regular communication with your press contacts. Once you have established a
relationship, send your contacts regular, interesting updates so they come to think of you as a
key source. Pitch them stories and keep them abreast of big developments in your campaign,
but also consider what kind of story they or their editors might find interesting. By tailoring
pitches to specific reporters and outlets, you will signal that you are thinking of them and that
you understand their work.
Provide timely and compelling news hooks. Reporters often cannot pursue a story unless
there is a clear sense of immediacy. An announcement, event, or new data can serve
as “hooks” for a story, and can then provide an entry point for a broader conversation
about wage theft. Reporters work on tight deadlines and accuracy is highly valued, so be
sure to offer credible, verifiable information along with sources who can provide interviews
in a timely fashion.
Worker-led protests
Initiation of wage theft litigation
Announcement of settlements
Wage theft news elsewhere
New data about wage theft
Examples of Wage Theft News Hooks:
Be strategic about the timing of your pitch. The best time to reach most reporters and
editors is mid-morning. To get them interested in covering a story for the next day, it is best
to pitch before noon. You can do this in a short email that captures the core of the story and
the sources available for interviews (workers, elected officials, others) in a single paragraph.
Reporters are often asked by their editors to offer pitches in one or two sentences, so be
succinct and direct in your pitch.
Consider exclusives and embargoed news. Media outlets like to get a scoop, so they
appreciate exclusives—the chance to cover a big story before other news outlets. Just be
mindful of who you give these privileges to, and how frequently, in order to avoid alienating
other media outlets. Another option is to offer news “under embargo.” This means that several
key news outlets are given a story with restrictions on when they can make the news public.
The outlets are able to plan for coverage for the following day, and you control the timeline. For
example, you could embargo a press release on a major announcement for 6 a.m. and offer
it to a few outlets the evening before so they can plan for the morning. Reporters and editors
appreciate the ability to plan their coverage for the following day, rather than receiving a press
release with no advance warning.
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
38
Communications Toolbox
Wage Theft Messaging:
Protecting Wages: The EJC Fights Wage Theft in D.C.,” Employment Justice Center
“Best Practices for Economic Justice Messaging,” Center for Popular Democracy
(see Appendix)
Examples of Wage Theft Statistics:
Protecting Wages: The EJC Fights Wage Theft in D.C.,” Employment Justice Center
What is Wage Theft?” UCLA Labor Center
Targeting Top Offenders:
By A Thousand Cuts: The Complex Faces of Wage Theft in New York,” Center for
Popular Democracy
Editorial Board Endorsements:
Proposed bill on fighting wage theft is strong but needs more precision,” Los
Angeles Times Editorial Board
Wage Theft Across the Board,” New York Times Editorial Board
Media Advisories:
Wage Theft Victims Rally in Protest of Stolen Pay,” Employment Justice Center
News Report Shows Wage Theft Impacts Workers’ Health,” UCLA Labor Center
RESOURCES
Lessons from the Field
39
RESOURCES
Communications Toolbox (continued...)
Press Releases:
Wage Theft Costs American Workers as much as $50 Billion a Year,” Economic
Policy Institute
Mayor of Boston Issues Wage Theft Executive Order,” City of Boston
Press Release
Op-Ed:
Offering Labor Day by Rooting Out Wage Theft,” Eric Shneiderman in
Huffington Post
Letters to the Editor:
Letter to the Editor: Wage-Theft by Employers Needs Legislative Remedy,”
The Washington Times
The Moral Imperative to End Wage Theft: Guest Opinion,” The Oregonian
Social Media:
Good Jobs, Strong Communities Stop Wage Theft Webpage
Los Angeles Coalition Against Wage Theft Facebook Page
Los Angeles Coalition Against Wage Theft Twitter Account
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
40
Winning
The Campaign:
Legislative Advocacy
Lessons from the Field
41
While there are various forms of advocacy used to combat wage theft, many campaigns focus on
passing wage theft legislation. Changing the law can address wage theft at a systemic level, for
instance by discouraging wage theft by increasing the penalties for stealing wages, strengthening
workers’ legal protections, or enhancing the tools to crack down on wage theft. Many successful
wage theft campaigns also combine legislative advocacy with other strategies such as targeting
specific employers or whole industries through direct action or collaboration with a local enforcement
agency. This section focuses on the legislative battle, providing tips for groups navigating the passage
of legislation at the state and local level.
Laying the Groundwork for an Eective Campaign
Define your Legislative Agenda
The first step in a legislative campaign, if you have not already done so, is to decide on the specific
policy demands that would achieve your campaign goals. For example, if your campaign goal is to
deter wage theft by cracking down on employers, you might advocate for an increase in the damages
that employers must pay when found guilty of wage theft. If you want to make it easier for immigrant
workers to stand up for their rights, you might decide to lobby for broader definitions of employer
retaliation. As mentioned in the introduction, there are excellent resources that can help you define
your policy goals. “Winning Wage Justice: An Advocates Guide to State and City Policies to Fight
Wage Theft” provides in-depth analysis of possible legal reforms to pursue as part of a wage theft
campaign. Also remember that wage theft legislation can include a number of policy changes within
one bill.
Wage Theft Prevention Act, New York65
Quadruples penalties for wage theft
Protects workers from retaliation
Adds enforcement tools that the US
Department of Labor (USDOL) can
use to investigate cases and collect
money owed66
Freelance Isn’t Free Act, New York City67
Requires contracts between freelance
workers and hiring parties that are
worth $800 or more to be
in writing
Requires hiring parties to pay
freelance workers on or before the
date in the contract
Protects freelance workers against
retaliation by hiring parties
Provides freelance workers the right to
file a complaint
Provides the right to sue in court
to seek double the unpaid amount,
damages for retaliation, damages for
failing to enter into a written contract,
and attorneys’ fees and costs68
Wage Theft Ordinance,
Chicago, Illinois69
Allows the city to revoke the business
licenses of employers found guilty of
wage theft70
Cook County Wage Theft Ordinance, Cook
County, Illinois71
Similar to the Chicago ordinance,
businesses convicted of wage theft
could risk losing their business license
and can be barred from receiving
contracts with the county and property
tax incentives for five years.72
Examples of Wage Theft Legislation:
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
42
Examples of Wage Theft Legislation: (continued...)
Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act of
2014, Washington, D.C.73
Increases penalties for employers who
commit wage-hour violations
Provides anti-retaliation protections
for workers
Establishes a formal hearing process
with enforceable judgments
Provides for better access to
legal representation for victims
of wage theft74
Boston Wage Theft Executive
Order, Boston75
Establishes disclosure and payroll
certification requirements for all
vendors doing business with the city
of Boston
Vendors with prior wage and hour
violations may be required to post
wage bond equal to the sum of one
year’s gross wages for all employees76
Maryland Lien for Unpaid
Wages, Maryland77
Provides that an employee who
has not been paid all wages due and
owing may file a lien against certain
property of their employer who owes
the unpaid wages78
California Fair Day’s Pay Act, California79
Allows labor commissioner to place
lien/levy on employers property
to collect judgment, including for
attorneys’ fees
Prevents abuse of corporate
organizational form to evade liability:
a company is liable if “substantially
the same” (1) work, conditions, and
managers or (2) operations, products,
and customers
Creates individual liability for wage
theft violations (can place lien on
owner’s personal property)
Oenders with outstanding judgment
must post bond to continue operating,
or face a Stop Work Order or license
revocation80
Examples of Educational Resources on Wage Theft
Legislation (found in the Appendix):
Wage Theft Prevention Act Comparison of
Bills and Existing Law Matrix, New York
Wage Theft Prevention Act Comparison of
Bills and Existing Law Summary, New York
Wage Theft Prevention Act One Pager,
New York
Carwash Accountability Act FAQ,
New York
Understand the Legislative Process
Before you launch your legislative campaign it is important to understand the legislative process in
your locality. Many of the basic components are generally the samea bill or ordinance must be
drafted and introduced, pass through committee, be approved by the legislature, and signed by the
executive. Advocates will often identify a sponsor who will introduce and champion their proposed
legislation, and then request additional legislators to sign on as co-sponsors. Most states have two
separate legislative chambers that mirror the House and the Senate at the federal level, and legislation
must be approved by both chambers or reconciled. Cities generally have one legislative body.
Beyond these basic elements, however, there can be a great deal of variation in the rules and
technical aspects of the process. You should seek out answers to the following questions: What is
the legislative calendar? Is there a deadline early in the legislative session for introducing all bills, or
can bills be introduced throughout the session? When is public testimony permitted? How and when
Lessons from the Field
43
are amendments introduced? How does the budget process fit in? Are there opportunities to include
substantive policies in the budget process if you can demonstrate a fiscal impact?
It is also important to understand the more nuanced political realities of the legislative process. For
example, can you influence which committee will review your legislation and, if so, which committee
will be most supportive? At what point in the process might your bill or ordinance get stuck in limbo?
Leverage Expertise
A good deal of relevant technical information can be found online. The New York Senate, for example,
has a website describing how a bill becomes a law,81 as does the California Senate.82
Navigating the local political waters, however, also requires information and knowledge that you will
not find online, and relationships that take time to cultivate.
Consider hiring a lobbyist. Many campaigns choose to work with professional lobbyists
because these individuals possess knowledge of the local political terrain and have established
legitimacy and trust with legislators. Experienced lobbyists know, for example, the staff
members of legislators, who can be as crucial to moving your bill as elected legislators.
Lean on your allies. If hiring a lobbyist is not possible because of budgetary constraints,
your campaign will have to build its own knowledge and relationships. Anyone can do this
effectively if they put in the time and effort. You can start with your alliesunions, influential
clergy, and community organizations might all have experiences engaging with the legislature
and be able to offer unique insight and/or connect you to legislators or other insiders.
Assess Your Strengths
In any campaign, it is important to have a clear assessment of what you can win—its good to be
ambitious but also realistic. Your ability to get legislation passed will depend on:
1) The political landscape (the make-up of your local or state legislative body, whether there
are influential legislators willing to champion your legislation, whether you have support
from the executive, what other priorities are pending that session that may detract from
your effort or may provide cover so your bill passes without notice, etc.)
2) How much power you have (your relationship with key legislators and your ability to
influence campaign targets)
The Power Analysis is designed to help you make this assessment and should have given you a clear
sense of your ability to win a legislative campaign.
Whatever the substance of the legislative proposalan unpaid wage lien, increased penalties for
violators, a new reporting requirement, or a combination of several different reforms—you will need
to make decisions about how comprehensive and ambitious a bill you will pursue. Some campaigns
choose to focus on narrow legislation that has the best chance of passage and could open the door
to other reforms in the future. Other campaigns pursue more comprehensive legislation that might
require a multi-year campaign, or legislation that is less likely to pass but represents longer term goals
and can help shift the public debate around wage theft and workers’ rights. Either way it is important
to assess your own power and to have a clear understanding of what you can win.
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
44
Case Study:
DC’s Wage Theft Prevention Act: Determination of Political Feasibility
The campaign for the WTPA in Washington, DC followed logically on the heels of the successful
minimum wage campaign the previous year, not only because many of the same coalition members
were involved in both fights, but because the talking points from the minimum wage campaign could
be leveraged in the wage theft fight. (For more information about this legislation, and the coalition
involved in its passage, see the “Building Your Coalition” section of this handbook.)
One of the minimum wage campaign messages was that current laws were not being adequately
enforced, which made space for a new conversation about the enforcement of wage theft. In
addition, the minimum wage bill passed in December of 2012 and the WTPA was introduced in
February of 2013, at which point a number of local positions were up for election. The timing of the
election, coupled with momentum from the previous wins, enabled the coalition to make wage theft a
campaign issue.
The coalition drew on a number of resources to determine that the wage theft win was politically
feasible. First, the coalition had developed knowledge of the local political landscape through prior
campaigns. In addition, one of the unions that was a member of the Just Pay Coalition had previously
conducted inside lobbying at City Hall. The coalition also worked with the legislative aide of the Metro
Washington Council AFL-CIO, who provided additional insight about political opportunities.83
Develop Your Approach
It can be helpful to define your approach from the outset of your legislative campaign because this
will impact how you communicate with legislative allies and opponents, and will shape your campaign
plan. This includes defining whether you will have a predominantly “inside” or “outside” strategy.
An outside strategy builds public pressure on legislators. It employs oppositional tactics
that demand public accountability, and usually requires significant people power to win. When
planning your outside strategy it is worth considering how your targets, your allies, and the
general public might react; if you want to cultivate relationships with relevant legislators, you
will want to be thoughtful about how your actions affect them. However, the reality is that
oppositional tactics can be a powerful way to influence targets and advance your campaign
goals. Outside tactics might include:
Rallies and direct actions against your campaign target
Media coverage on a legislator’s wavering position
Grinch of the Year” awards to the worst employers in your area or business organizations
that have committed wage theft
An inside strategy is a plan to introduce and champion legislation without a public campaign.
The success of an inside game depends on an understanding of the legislative process in
your city or state, knowledge of legislators’ interests and concerns, and strong relationships
with key legislators. If you do not have this knowledge and experience yourself, you might
want to connect with an experienced lobbyist or a coalition partner who does. Inside tactics
might include:
Small meetings with legislators and regulators
Lessons from the Field
45
Testifying at committee hearings
Leveraging allies’ influence with key legislators
Most campaigns pursue a combination inside/outside strategy. Through the strategic coupling
of inside and outside tactics, at times delivered by different “messengers,” you can use the
legislative process to champion your bill and also demonstrate the urgency of your campaign
with mounting public pressure. For example, you could line up your legislative champions and
turn out several hundred people at a public hearing.
Case Study:
The DC Wage Theft Prevention Act—An Inside/Outside Campaign
The DC Wage Theft Coalition pursued a number of inside and outside tactics to advance the WTPA
within city council. The coalition raised the issue of wage theft at mayoral candidate forums as well as
in union endorsement processes. It also met with individual council members and the Mayors Office
closer to the vote. Part of the coalition’s strategy was to identify which council members the Chamber
of Commerce spoke with and reach out to them immediately to make their own position known.
Coalition members frequently dropped by council members’ offices to ensure that sure there were no
new unexpected amendments to the bill.
Some of these relationships with council members yielded key information that enabled EJC to
anticipate the opposition. For instance, EJC got a tip that a hostile amendment was going to be
raised, allowing them time to mobilize effective opposition. They also learned that a council meeting
might not reach a quorum, which would delay action on the bill. The coalition generated more than
100 turnout calls to council members, ensuring full attendance.
In addition to effectively navigating the inside strategy, the coalition organized a number of direct
actions and events to draw public attention to the issue and further elevate the voices of workers
themselves. In the initial stages of the campaign, the coalition organized “bad actor” actions to put
pressure on egregious employers. For example, coalition members held a protest at a restaurant
and issued a press release about it. This tactic led to direct negotiations with the employer and a
subsequent victory rally. The coalition also organized rallies before each major stage of the bill, all
of which were led by a committee of workers. Each rally featured some type of creative action. At
one rally, workers performed street theater about wage theft and shared their personal stories. One
member of the worker committee wrote and performed an original song about wage theft and its
impact. Finally, coalition members hosted public forums on the topic of wage theft. A council member
that attended one of the events publicly credited the event with raising his awareness about the
severity of the problem.84
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
46
Building Relationships with Legislators
Set up a meeting. The surest way to connect with a legislator is to leverage allies with
existing relationships, but making a first contact can also be as simple as calling their office
to schedule a meeting. Legislators often have a scheduler and, in many instances, issue
specialists. Staffers are sometimes more accessible than legislators themselves, and may
provide a good entry point. You can ask if the legislator has a staff person working specifically
on wage theft, labor issues, or workers’ rights, and request to speak with this person.
Do background research. If wage theft has not been a very public issue in your area, you
may still be able to determine where legislators stand by examining their voting history and
public statements on related issues. For example, they may have made statements on the
minimum wage or paid sick leave that could give you a sense of their likely stance.
Make a Strong Case
District data. Legislators will likely want to understand the prevalence of wage theft in their
district. You could produce local wage theft data using some of the methods described in the
Research” section of this handbook. Your ability to provide district-specific data will depend
on the size of the district (for the likely impact of wage theft) or having collected enough
enforcement data to provide profiles of offending businesses by district.
Worker Stories. Legislators are invariably moved by stories of constituents who have faced
wage theft and are advocating for the bill. Putting a human face on wage theft, and particularly
one of a constituent of the legislator, is a powerful way to demonstrate the human cost of
wage theft and move legislators to action.
Polling data. Elected officials are most influenced by their own constituency, so relevant
polling data from their districts could help to make the case that wage theft is worthy of
their attention. If polling data on wage theft is not available, data on a related issue or from a
different but comparable district could be of use. Be forthcoming about any major limitations
of your datayou are building a relationship of trust and you risk undermining that trust if you
try to stretch the truth.
Outcomes from other jurisdictions. Evidence from other jurisdictions that have passed
similar legislation provides invaluable support for your case. If you can demonstrate positive
outcomes that have resulted from the passage of wage theft legislationor even the absence
of negative outcomesyou might be able to temper a legislator’s potential concerns. But
beware of legislators’ tendency to dismiss models from more progressive states (New York or
California for instance) as relevant comparisons for their state and political landscape.
Get a Commitment
Find a champion to sponsor your legislation. The ideal legislative champion is passionate
about the cause of fighting wage theft and well positioned to move your legislation forward.
Finding the right sponsor might require mapping out the power relationships within the
legislature, because the person most committed to the cause is not always the right choice
if they are not able to forge the path to passage. In some instances, a junior “rising star”
legislator looking to make a “mark” for him or herself may make an excellent choice as a
sponsor. In other instances, sponsorship by a very established legislator, with extensive
Lessons from the Field
47
and strong relationships in the legislature, may be more useful to your campaign. Analyze
the relationship of potential sponsors to the leadership in their house and in their party, as
those relationships can have a significant impact on their ability to move a bill. Consider, too,
the relevant staff of potential sponsors. Are they at ease navigating complicated policy? Do
they have good working relationships with the staff of key legislators you are hoping to get
as co-sponsors?
Once you have identified a champion, that person can become an invaluable partner in
deciding how to frame the issue. Should wage theft be framed as a law-and-order issue or as
an important corollary to a recently increased minimum wage? Friendly reporters can also help
you obtain a commitment from a champion by getting policymakers to commit on record at
press conferences, meetings, or events.
While a champion can help identify which angle might help move the process along
legislatively, keep in mind that this frame needs to be compatible with the campaign narrative
that you and/or your coalition have already identified.
Offer different levels of engagement. In addition to the legislation’s sponsor, your campaign
will always benefit from additional champions who will engage in heavy lifting when it comes
to the legislative process. Not every legislator will be willing or able to participate at that level,
however, so you may want to provide potential co-sponsors with a “menu” of various options
and levels of engagement.
Within the legislative process, you could ask legislators to:
Sign on as co-sponsors of the legislation
Organize or participate in a legislative hearing
Reach out to other targets for co-sponsorship
Campaign activities for legislative supporters could include:
Participating in a public forum or listening session
Attending a march, rally, or other event
Speaking at a press conference
Writing an op-ed or provide a quote for an op-ed or blog post
Engaging the issue via social media
See the Interfaith Worker Justice’s guide to organizing legislative visits.85
RESOURCES
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
48
Navigating Passage
Continue to build legislative support. You should plan to continue lobbying legislators
throughout your campaign. You might want to focus on legislators in the following categories:
Influential legislators. Consult your lobbyist or allies with legislative experience if you
don’t already know who these people are. Keep in mind that this includes legislators with
institutional power (the speaker, committee chairs, etc.) as well as legislators who wield
influence because they have gained the respect of their peers, because they represent
swing districts, etc.
Caucuses. Many legislatures have caucuses that might represent an important group of
potential allies (progressive caucuses, African-American and Latino caucuses, etc.).
The committee that will review your bill or ordinance. If your wage theft bill will
go through the labor committee, for example, then you will want to meet with as many
members of that committee as possible.
Maximize opportunities to provide public testimony. Committees often hold public
hearings as part of the legislative process. This is an important opportunity to make a
strong case for your wage theft legislation. Testimony should cover all the key elements
of your campaign narrative, and should come from a variety of voices: impacted workers,
business owners, legal experts, labor allies, and faith leaders, among others.
See the National Employment Law Project’s 2014 testimony regarding Maryland’s lien for
unpaid wages.86
RESOURCES
Consider what might happen in negotiations. A bill or ordinance can change significantly
as it makes its way through the legislative process. One strategy is to draft a comprehensive
bill with the assumption that some provisions may have to be removed in order to achieve
passage. Legislative campaigns can also be coupled with budget advocacy (to strengthen
wage theft enforcement, for example) and the two sets of campaign demands can exist in a
dynamic relationship, for instance if you need to negotiate something away or trade one set of
campaign demands for another.
Be prepared to respond to amendments. When amendments to the bill are proposed,
whether by friends or foes, attempt to identify the underlying concern and to think creatively.
There could be an alternative to either the original text or the proposed amendment that
achieves the provisions purpose and also addresses the concern.
Lessons from the Field
49
Alternatives to Wage Theft Legislation
Even if wage theft legislation is not feasible in the short-term, building relationships with legislators
can still have important benefits for the campaign.
A legislator could commission a local study on wage theft, producing findings that could be
used to increase public awareness.
The executive branch (e.g., mayor or governor) may also have authority to address wage
theft, for example issuing regulations that provide for stronger enforcement or close
loopholes under existing legislative authority or issue executive orders that better protect
government contractors.
Legislatures can also pass “message” bills and resolutions, which do not create new law but
can serve to draw media attention and build public support.
You can also pursue alternative paths to legislative reform. For example, other workers’ rights or
related bills may be moving forward that could incorporate some wage theft provisions.
The Kentucky Equal Justice Center was able to
collaborate with allies to include a treble damages
wage theft provision in the 2013 Human Tracking
Victims’ Rights Act.87 While the enhanced
penalties are only triggered when elements of
human tracking are also present, the inclusion
of wage theft claims in these cases can serve to
provide documentation and education around
the issue of wage theft, while providing actual
remedies to victims of human tracking.
Example of an Alternative to Wage Theft Legislation:
Case Study:
Maryland’s Lien for Unpaid Wages
The Maryland Lien for Unpaid Wages, which
took effect in 2013, established a procedure by
which an employee can attach a lien to the real or
personal property of an employer for the amount
of unpaid wages claimed before a final judgment
has been entered against the employer. This lien
prevents employers from transferring or otherwise
hiding their assets in anticipation of a judgment,
or simply ignoring workers’ efforts to collect on
a judgment. For more information on Marylands
Wage Lien, see Maryland’s Department of Labor,
Licensing, and Regulation at dllr.state.md.us.88
The Public Justice Center’s ( PJC) 89 Workplace
Justice Project and key allies led the campaign to
pass the wage lien bill. After failing in its first year,
Marylands wage lien law passed with surprisingly
A worker who recovered his wages under the Wage Lien Law.
Credit: Public Justice Center
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
50
little controversy in its second year, when there were two other important workers’ rights-related
billsminimum wage and paid sick leavebefore the legislature. The fact that Maryland law already
contained 23 other types of liens aided the drafting of the legislation and helped neutralize the
opposition. The bill that ultimately passed was modeled on the pre-existing state contract lien, which
had been upheld in court as providing sufficient due process to the property holder.
Numerous factors contributed to its passage. A professional lobbyist offered expert advice and
advocacy, and the bill sponsors provided effective support for the bill. After it failed to pass in its
first year, advocates reframed the lien as comparable to a contract lien (instead of comparing it to
a mechanic’s lien, which is more cumbersome and had proven less effective the year before) and
reintroduced it in a committee that had more experience with lien laws.
Strategic steps were also taken to neutralize anticipated arguments against the bill. One such
argument was that employers might have their property encumbered by liens attached in relation to
frivolous claims. A provision was added to protect employers by allowing the court to award court
costs and reasonable attorney’s fees in the event that a claim is found to be frivolous. Advocacy
for the bill also stressed the impermanence of the lien, highlighting that it is a “temporary hold”
on property until the outcome of a dispute is decided. Just before the introduction of the bill, the
Baltimore Sun published an article about wage theft that explained the proposed wage lien and
included a quote from the Maryland Chamber of Commerce stating that law-abiding businesses are
at a competitive disadvantage when forced to compete with companies that violate wage and hour
laws. Advocates also worked with the Baltimore Sun to provide worker stories exemplifying the need
for a new tool for wage theft.
Campaign research was used effectively to support lobbying efforts. Professional polling produced
strong evidence of popular support for new wage theft remedy. Meanwhile, the Immigrant Rights
Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law helped research and draft a report on the scope
of wage theft in Maryland and the challenges to collecting unpaid wages. A Freedom of Information
request to the state wage and hour enforcement agency, the Department of Labor, Licensing and
Regulation (DLLR), produced statistics revealing low rates of collecting on DLLR’s orders to pay
unpaid wages. These numbers provided the basis for a forceful argument that the bill would aid both
the government and the private bar in enforcing state labor laws regarding wages and hours.
The DLLR and NELP submitted testimony in support of the bill, as did workers with powerful stories
about their experiences as victims of wage theft and their inability to collect on judgments against
their employers. Testimony emphasized that, rather than increasing litigation, the wage lien process
would encourage employers to settle claims quickly to avoid the lien and would thus reduce lengthy,
costly litigation over relatively small sums.90
Lessons from the Field
51
Legislative Advocacy Toolbox
Wage Theft Policies:
Winning Wage Justice: An Advocates Guide to State and City Policies to Fight Wage
Theft,” National Employment Law Project
Wage Theft Legislation:
Wage Theft Prevention Act, New York
Freelance Isn’t Free Act, New York City
Wage Theft Ordinance, Chicago
Cook County Wage Theft Ordinance, Cook County
Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act of 2014, Washington, DC
Boston Wage Theft Executive Order, Boston
Maryland Lien for Unpaid Wages, Maryland
California Fair Day’s Pay Act, California
Examples of Educational Resources on Wage Theft Legislation (found in the Appendix):
Wage Theft Prevention Act Comparison of Bills and Existing Law Matrix, New York
Wage Theft Prevention Act Comparison of Bills and Existing Law Summary, New York
Wage Theft Prevention Act One Pager, New York
Carwash Accountability Act FAQ, New York
Wage Theft Provision:
Human Trafficking Victims’ Rights Act, Kentucky
Navigating Passage:
How to Organize a Delegation,” Interfaith Worker Justice
Testimony on Maryland Wage Lien, National Employment Law Project
How a Bill Becomes a Law in New York, New York Senate
How a Bill Becomes a Law in California, California Senate
RESOURCES
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
52
Implementation:
Strengthening
Enforcement
Lessons from the Field
53
As wage theft campaigns succeed in increasing the legal consequences for employers who break the
law, the successful enforcement of new laws or policy is equally critical.
In recent years, advocates have begun to analyze and collect best practices in agency enforcement
efforts against wage theft. 91 For example Just Pay: Improving Wage and Hour Enforcement at the
United States Department of Labor, developed by NELP for the Just Pay Working Group, offers
recommendations for improvements to the USDOL.92 (The Just Pay Working Group was a 2009
national convening of worker centers, unions, local officials, academics, and attorneys with expertise
on wage theft issues.) The USDOL and state departments of labor have also funded studies and
audits aimed at evaluating and making recommendations regarding enforcement practices.93
It is important to consider these best practices because relatively minor adjustments in agency
practice can yield dramatic improvements in their effectiveness and increased recovery of stolen
wages. This section shares some considerations from the field that can inform ongoing enforcement
efforts and tips for how to think about equipping our state enforcement agencies with the tools,
strategies, and resources needed to be effective.
One note of caution: state enforcement systems vary greatly across the country and are dependent on
the local context, which includes the existing structure of the states wage and hour laws, the resources
available, the existence of community-based organizations that can support enforcement, and the
political climate. In other words, administrative reforms necessary in New York, for example, which has
a relatively large investigatory staff, may not make sense for a state with a smaller agency staff.
Budget Advocacy
Strong enforcement of wage and hour laws is often hindered by the limited resources available to
government enforcement agencies. Budget advocacy can be crucial during a wage theft legislative
campaign, and as a new wage theft law takes effect. Some budget proposals for additional
enforcement funding include:
Increasing the state budget for investigators
Increasing the number of investigators specifically dedicated to wage theft
Directing fines back to enforcement agencies (Note that this has a potential disadvantage,
if legislators point to this source of revenue as a reason not to ensure stable funding from
general funds.)
Authorizing enforcement agencies to collect investigatory and enforcement costs from
employers found to have violated the law
If your campaign decides to advocate for additional resources for wage theft enforcement in your
state or local budget, it is important to understand the relevant budget process. Like the legislative
process, the budget process varies from place to place. However, generally speaking, the process
begins when the executive proposes a budget, which is often followed by budget hearings and other
opportunities to apply public pressure, and then, after a series of negotiations, the legislature passes
a budget. Also similar to the legislative process, technical information about the budget calendar and
approval process can likely be found online, although inside information from allies, advocates, or
lobbyists who are familiar with the political reality of the budget can be just as important.
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
54
Local institutions may have knowledge of, and experience with, this type of budget advocacy. The
Advocacy Institute, for example, supports the legislative advocacy of social justice and movement-
building organizations in New York City and State, and has excellent resources regarding the budget
and how it intersects with the legislative process. For instance, their 2015 legislative and budget
maps (available in the Appendix) can serve as models for the type of information you will want to
collect for your own state’s process.
Additional examples of budget advocacy resources in New York State, California, and
Washington DC:
A School Board Members Guide to the New York State Budget Process,” New York
State School Boards Association
Influencing the Budget in California,” Bolder Advocacy
Budget Toolkit,” DC Fiscal Policy Institute
Just Pay Coalition Budget Hearing Talking Points in the Appendix, Washington, DC
(see Appendix)
DC Employment Justice Center’s 2013 Oversight Testimony on the Department of
Employment Services, Washington, DC (see Appendix)
RESOURCES
Improving Agency Practice
There are often numerous ways to ensure more effective enforcement of new wage left laws that do
not require further legislative action, but only changes to how enforcement agencies approach their
work. As coalitions shift from the fight to win a law to the work of monitoring implementation and
enforcement, it is important to track how the enforcement agency (typically a department of labor)
is interpreting and using the new policies. Below are several ways that agencies can maximize their
impact within their existing authority.
Targeted and proactive enforcement. Agencies can increase their impact by targeting the
industries with the highest rates of violations, and reaching the workers who are most likely to
suffer violations but who may be least likely to come forward. Agencies can:
Identify industries with high violation rates by consulting with labor advocates and
other labor standards enforcers (ensure the agency has the authority to do affirmative
investigations without waiting for a complaint)
Conduct unannounced sweeps of particularly egregious employers, or of entire regions
or industries
Identify high-level priorities (for example cases where large numbers of workers are
involved, or priority violations, such as cases that include retaliation) and create a task force
for these high-priority cases
Conduct workplace-wide investigations, rather than simply resolving a single worker’s
complaint (confirm that there is legislative authority for the agency to do this)—this both
protects claimants from retaliation, while increasing the pressure on employers to comply
rather than face increased fines
Lessons from the Field
55
Accessibility to low-wage workers. Agencies can take many steps to increase
their accessibility to workers most at risk for abuse, but often least likely to come forward.
Agencies can:
Ensure quality translation for limited English proficient claimants and translation of all
relevant forms into the most common languages for that state
Provide office hours on some evenings to make the agency more accessible to low-wage
workers who often cannot file complaints during regular business hours
Train investigators to understand the challenges facing low-wage workers (e.g., lack of pay
stubs or documentation of wages)
Maximizing agency impact. Agencies can take a number of steps to maximize the impact of
their work in the context of limited resources. They can:
Assess the full range of fines and liquidated damages against egregious employers, to
increase the incentives for employers to comply at the outset (e.g., fines for record keeping
violations or falsified records, rather than just fines for wages owed)
Investigate for the full statute of limitations period
Cross-refer cases to other agencies (an employer who is underpaying workers is also likely
to be skirting health and safety laws, falsifying workers’ compensation coverage, violating
health and environmental codes, etc.)
Case Study:
Increasing Private Enforcement While Increasing Revenue in California
California has taken some novel approaches to encouraging private enforcement, increasing agency
revenue, and contracting community organizations to expand worker education and judgment
collection operations.
The Problem
As is true nationwide, wage theft claims in California have an abysmal rate of collection. A study
conducted by the NELP and the UCLA Labor Center, called “Hollow Victories: The Crisis in Collecting
Unpaid Wages for California Workers,” found that from 2008 to 2011 only 17 percent of claims for
back pay and penalties awarded by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) were ever
collected in California.94 Only $42 million of the more than $282 million in awards for unpaid wages
issued by DLSE were ever collected from employers.95 Lawyers and collections agencies often refuse
to take on these claims because the potential pay–out simply does not compensate for the resource-
intensive procedures involved, nor the low likelihood of success.
The Solution: Encouraging Private Enforcement While Increasing Revenue
Most state agencies that enforce workers’ rights are too underfunded to conduct comprehensive and
timely investigations of all complaints, leaving some workers waiting months or longer for assistance.
Lack of resources also prevents agencies from vigorously litigating suspected violations, forcing them
to settle complaints for amounts unlikely to deter future lawbreaking. California’s Labor Code Private
Attorney General Act of 2004 (PAGA) was enacted to help fill this gap in government enforcement
capacity and provide an avenue for worker-initiated enforcement outside the wage and hour claims
procedure. Under PAGA, an employee is essentially deputized to sue for penalties that could previously
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
56
only be recovered by a state agency such as the Labor Commissioner or the Attorney General. Acting
as a private attorney general, the employee can file a suit pursuing civil penalties on behalf of the
California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA). Importantly, PAGA suits can pursue
penalties on behalf of other current or former employees of the employer, not just for the plaintiff, in a
representative action” that does not require the extensive procedural litigation of a class action.96
If penalties are awarded beyond the damages owed to the workers (for example, their unpaid
overtime), the employees receive 25 percent of those fines and must turn the other 75 percent
over to the LWDA. PAGA specifies that the funds turned over the LWDA are earmarked for the
enforcement of labor laws and the education of employers and employees and should “not supplant
the funding to the agency for those purposes.97 In other words, funds collected from PAGA suits
should increase the agency’s resources but not replace public funding. Importantly, PAGA provides
attorney’s fees to the employee in the case of a successful suit, thus creating an incentive for
attorneys to represent employees in PAGA cases.
By providing a default penalty for all labor code violations of $100 per aggrieved employee per pay
period (double for repeat violators), PAGA dramatically increased the potential consequences of
violating the law, prodding employers to take Labor Code compliance more seriously. It has also
been construed to permit recovery for wage orders, including historically under-enforced health and
safety standards such as California’s “suitable seating” requirement.98 Since its enactment, PAGA has
been amended to prevent plaintiffs from recovering for inadvertent technical violations of notice and
paystub requirements, allow employers an opportunity to cure certain less serious violations, increase
LWDA oversight of PAGA cases, and authorize judges to reduce penalties where appropriate. These
modifications addressed employer grievances about “abuse” of PAGA by the plaintiffs’ bar (attorneys
who represent workers in suits against employers), while preserving the core elements that have
made PAGA a powerful tool in enforcement of workplace rights.
The Solution: Collaboration with Community Groups
California’s Labor Commissioner has used some of its increased resources to contract with non-
profits to provide worker education and to aid workers in collecting from employers under outstanding
judgments in ways that may provide a model for other jurisdictions facing similar challenges.
In January 2013, the Labor Commissioner contracted with the Wage Justice Center, a non-profit
organization in Los Angeles supported by law-student and attorney volunteers with extensive
experience with collections actions against employers. Their aim was to collect on outstanding
judgments issued by the DLSE. The Wage Justice Center uses innovative legal strategies
including regular mechanics’ liens clinics, which have succeeded in collecting on 85 to 95 percent
of judgments—to collect on awards and to pursue bankrupt businesses, businesses that have been
fraudulently transferred to another corporate entity, and employers who never actually had sufficient
funds to pay the employees they hired.99
This contracting of enforcement functions to worker centers or other advocacy organizations with
extensive knowledge of workers, employers, and patterns of wage theft may prove a useful trend
moving forward. To be certain, organizations with trusting relationships in worker communities are
well-positioned to provide access to education and other services in settings and with an approach
more attuned to workers’ needs and concerns.
Lessons from the Field
57
Case Study:
When Collaboration Doesn’t Work: Leveraging Litigation Against the Department of
Workforce Solutions in New Mexico100
Several years ago, advocates in New Mexico began to identify problems with the way the State
Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) enforces New Mexico’s minimum wage, wage payment,
and overtime payment laws. For example, DWS did not create bilingual materials despite the large
population of Spanish-speaking workers in the state. In addition to corresponding solely in English,
the agency gave workers only a ten-day window to respond to agency communications about their
claims, leaving little time for workers to obtain translation services needed to pursue complaints.
Advocates and worker center partners soon discovered that cases were being closed for reasons
beyond a lack of language access and that DWS had established a number of internal policies that
were out of compliance with state law. For example, DWS was automatically rejecting complaints
when claims took place more than a year before the complaint was made, even though the law
mandated that claims can go back three years. DWS was also automatically rejecting complaints that
exceeded $10,000, claiming that workers should file these cases in court themselves. Finally, DWS
was not applying the states treble damages law, and instead never sought damages. Advocates
learned of these policies by representing workers in the DWS wage claim process and by filing public
records requests for hundreds of case files, which demonstrated that these policies applied to all
wage claims.
In 2017, attorneys and workers’ rights organizations in New Mexicoincluding the New Mexico
Center on Law and Poverty and membership organizations Somos un Puebo Unido, El CENTRO
de Igualdad y Derechos, Organizers in the Land of Enchantment, and Comunidades en Accion y de
Febanded together in coalition to sue DWS after efforts to persuade it to abandon these policies
failed. The coalition argued that DWS’s non-enforcement policies and failure to provide language
access violated its mandatory statutory duty to investigate and enforce the wage statutes. The class
action lawsuit, which is still pending in state court, covers any worker whose case was closed under
one of the agencys illegal policies, and seeks an order permitting any worker who has experienced
a violation to have their case reopened and investigated. DWS moved to dismiss the lawsuit shortly
after it was filed, arguing that it has discretion as an administrative agency to adopt its policies.
The judge denied this motion, ruling that the wage statutes impose a mandatory duty to investigate
wage claims.
When worker cases are being closed for policy or jurisdictional reasons that appear to have no basis
in law or regulation, or when enforcement agencies refuse to provide language access in a way that
can be tied to claim closure, it may be worth investigating whether there is a violation in the agency’s
statutory duty to investigate wage and hour claims, and exploring litigation as a strategy.
See the Appendix for an example of an informational flyer for workers regarding their rights
under the New York WTPA.
RESOURCES
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
58
Case Study:
Collaborating with Local Enforcers in Chicago101
After a two-year campaign led by the Illinois Just Pay for All Coalition, the Illinois Wage Protection Act
was signed into law in July 2010 and went into effect in January 2011. The Act created some of the
strongest protections against wage theft nationwide.
Along with creating increased civil and criminal penalties for wage theft, the Act focused on giving
the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) increased authority and more effective tools for enforcement.
The Just Pay for Alls member organizations—including the Chicago Workers Collaborative, the
Latino Union of Chicago, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, and Working Hands Legal Clinicworked
collaboratively with IDOL to identify the main challenges to enforcement and assess how they might
be overcome.
Prior to the Act’s passage, if an employer chose to ignore IDOL, which occurred in 40 percent of
cases, IDOLs only recourse was to close its administrative case and refer it to the state Attorney
General’s office for enforcement. The Attorney General would then have to file a complaint in state
court and essentially begin the entire case anew, if it were to pursue the claim at all, which was
unlikely given with the large number of wage theft claims and the fact that 60 percent of all claims
were for less than $3,000. In response to this, the legislation created an administrative process to
allow IDOL to adjudicate claims of $3,000 or less administratively, and to issue default judgments,
including penalties of up to 20 percent when employers fail to respond. IDOLs judgments in such
cases were binding and enforceable agency decisions.
The collaboration between the coalition and state agencies allowed them to draft legislation aimed
at strengthening enforcement without requiring additional agency funding. In fact, the legislation
increased agency resources by creating an earmarked fund with penalties paid by employers. The
Act also allows those workers who prefer to forego the administrative procedure to proceed directly
to state court and even to file state court claims on behalf of themselves and others similarly
situated, with those who prevail entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs.102 This further encouraged the
supplementation of IDOL’s efforts with private enforcement efforts. Collaboration with the Attorney
General’s office informed the drafting of criminal provisions, including the inclusion of a Class 4 felony
for repeat violators.
This collaboration continued into the implementation phase. Regular meetings with IDOL helped
worker center members of the coalition to highlight worker needs and suggest effective regulatory
language. Worker centers were involved in drafting the implementing regulations which included,
for example, the right to have a representative accompany workers to investigative hearings and
default proceedings.
The coalition has continued to work closely with IDOL to ensure successful implementation and
enforcement, and has helped to educate low-wage workers across the Chicago area about how to
access the administrative process at IDOL. In 2014, IDOL’s Fair Labor Standards Division successfully
recovered more than $5.3 million in lost wages.103
This case study was adapted from a case study, “Amending the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection
Act” by Alvar Ayala of the Working Hands Legal Clinic.104
Lessons from the Field
59
Strengthening Enforcement Toolbox
Best Practices for Enforcement:
Just Pay: Improving Wage and Hour Enforcement at the United States Department of
Labor, National Employment Law Project for the Just Pay Working Group
A Vision for Meaningful Enforcement,” Center for Popular Democracy, adapted from
the National Employment Law Project (see Appendix)
Budget Advocacy:
Legislative and Budget Maps, Advocacy Institute (see Appendix)
A School Board Members Guide to the New York State Budget Process,” New York
State School Boards Association
Influencing the Budget in California,” Bolder Advocacy
Budget Toolkit,” DC Fiscal Policy Institute
Just Pay Coalition Budget Hearing Talking Points (see Appendix)
DC Employment Justice Center’s 2013 Oversight Testimony on the Department of
Employment Services (see Appendix)
Working with Community-Based Allies:
Informational flyers for workers (see Appendix)
Enforcement Challenges:
Hollow Victories: The Crisis in Collecting Unpaid Wages for California Workers,
National Employment Law Project and the UCLA Labor Center
RESOURCES
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
60
Conclusion
Across the country, vibrant coalitions are fighting against wage theft and winning major victories.
They are strengthening state and local laws that protect low-wage workers from wage theft and
retaliation, while at the same time building lasting coalition infrastructures and capacities within
the community. This Handbook was intended to provide organizations committed to fighting wage
theft with tools to help build stronger, more effective, and more powerful coalitions poised to win
ever-more ambitious campaign victories. As states and localities pass higher minimum wages, the
incentives for employers to skirt the law grow. So too do the incentives to “restructure” work by
turning “employees” in to “entrepreneurs” who then lose hard-won protections. It will be critical
for those committed to winning justice for low-wage workers to evolve our strategies, coalition
infrastructure, and sophistication to protect the victories we have already won, and position ourselves
to win more.
The Center for Popular Democracy operates as a hub of campaign support to a range of organizations
engaged in wage theft fights around the US. We welcome the input, lessons, and stories from wage
theft warriors, both to add to this resource, and expand the shared knowledge of allied organizations
across the country.
For more information or to solicit support, please contact Rachel Deutsch at
rdeutsch@populardemocracy.org or Tony Perlstein at tperlstein@populardemoracy.org
Lessons from the Field
61
Appendix I: Wage Theft Landscape Analysis
The analytic framework sketched out below is
framed for use by advocacy organizations to explore
the what, where, how and why of a potential new
campaign or initiative, and may be applied to a wage
theft campaign.
When any organization considers taking on new work
or building a new initiative, there are a number of
relevant questions to explore. Organizations can map
the current and emerging local/state landscape to
make smart decisions about where and how to focus
resources. Who is already in the field? What legal
issues are emerging that might provide leverage?
What other powerful actors (e.g., unions) have stakes
in these issues, or have competing priorities?
This outline of questions and factors is designed to
help groups begin this type of inquiry. Of course,
this document is but a starting point – there are
likely dozens of other questions relevant to your
particular analysis.
CURRENT CONTEXT IN YOUR STATE
As a starting point, sketch out your understanding
of the current context for your organizations
consideration of new member organizing and
expansion. Some of your initial questions should
include the following:
What are recent relevant political and/or policy
wins or losses?
How are politics and demographics shifting in
your state?
What is the nature of your existing relationships
with key state-wide elected officials?
Who comprises your existing leader and member
base? Is your existing base primarily online, or is
it engaged in offline activity as well?
What is the level of interest among local groups,
in particular the existing local worker centers and
unions, in expanding capacity/infrastructure to
support new worker organizing?
What is the level of interest from the local labor
movement in tackling low-wage worker issues?
What is the level of interest from key foundations
in building capacity and strength in your state to
help anchor state-wide progressive movement
around a variety of issues?
ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS AND/
OR INTERESTS
Throughout the overall analysis, each organization
must, of course, regularly revisit its own interest in
the substance, structure, and goals of the potential
campaign or initiative. Below are some questions to
determine possible organizational goals.
Does your organization seek to:
Win the change you envision to protect
workers and ensure accountability for
employers? Build the power of workers to
promote, defend, and expand their rights?
Build the power of your organization through
the leadership and participation of workers
and members? Elevate the profile of the
organization as a “key player” on the local,
regional, state, or national stage?
Elevate the role of the organization as leader
or expert on the particular issue?
Take advantage of strategic opportunity in
the field?
Reach and integrate a new constituency
within existing organizational framework?
Build new infrastructure (i.e. a new
component to the existing organization, a
new coalition, or wholly new entity to house
the work)?
Build new or deeper relationships with
other organizations?
Generate resources (foundation funding,
grassroots funding, etc.)?
INDUSTRY & SECTOR ANALYSIS
New initiatives often focus on particular sectors
or industries that offer strategic advantages. (For
example, particular sectors or industries may be
growing, deeply rooted and hard to relocate, feature
rampant legal violations, etc.) Some recent worker
organizing initiatives have focused, for example,
on car washes, fast food restaurants, the logistics
industry (warehousing), domestic workers, home care
workers, and more. Whether or not an organization
intends to organize members in a particular industry,
or more broadly around issues, it is helpful to analyze
the industries in the region. Below are but a few of
the questions to consider when analyzing the region’s
economy and key industries.
Center for Popular Democracy | Wage Theft Landscape Analysis Tool (Updated July 2017)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
62
What are the industries or economic sectors in
the region that are:
Established and core for the region?
Expanding and growing?
Heavily or modestly unionized, and
by whom?
Profitable and/or have a large market
share (so have the resources to improve
conditions and wages)?
Low wage?
Noncompliant with minimum wage
and overtime laws, environmental
regulations, consumer protection laws,
or other existing laws?
Are there industries or sectors in transition,
that are:
Being privatized?
Facing increased subcontracting?
Shifting to use of temp agencies?
Consolidating (e.g., banking)?
Fragmenting?
Are there industries that are dominated by:
Workers of color?
Women?
Immigrants (documented
and undocumented)?
Are there industries that are the subject of
existing attention or mobilization (e.g., the
financial sector)?
Are there industries or sectors that contract with
or do business with local or state government?
Are there potential campaigns for growing
sectors that would require an expansion of public
employee bargaining rights such as in homecare
or childcare?
Related to structural economic questions, you might
explore whether “workforce development” issues
(rebuilding career ladders in currently deskilled or
low-wage jobs, ensuring public monies are spent to
create quality living-wage jobs, etc.) offer potential
organizing, advocacy, or other hooks for work. These
issues may be tied to a particular industry, or cut
broadly across sectors in the area. In addition to
connecting to structural economic issues, a workforce
development focus may open sources of funding that
can be used to support/subsidize low-wage worker
organizing in general.
EXISTING LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Existing laws provide points of leverage in a
campaign. High-profile litigation or government
enforcement actions can draw public support,
media attention, government scrutiny, and create
economic incentives for an industry to improve
industry conditions. It is helpful to consider both the
potential substantive issues relevant to an industry
or worker population as well as the strategies that
may be appropriate. Below are a number of questions
to ask as you assess substantive legal issues and
appropriate strategies.
Substantive legal issues
What minimum wage and overtime laws
(under-payment or nonpayment of wages; being
forced to “clock out” but continue working
without pay; misclassification of workers as
management” or “independent contractors
and improperly exempt from overtime pay; etc.)
are being violated?
Is there discrimination occurring (typical
categories, as well as based on criminal records
in some jurisdictions)?
Are there workers who could qualify for U visas?
(Undocumented workers who help government
officials investigate an enumerated crime may be
eligible for a visa to regularize their status.)
Has there been fraud against the government
(for example, nonpayment by employers of
payroll taxes or unemployment or workers’
compensation premiums)?
Are there other non-labor related legal violations,
such as:
Consumer laws?
Tort or personal injury?
Environmental regulations?
Strategies
Should you pursue private litigation (either
through a legal services office or private
law firm, or through individual actions or
class actions)?
Should you pursue administrative advocacy?
Depending on the nature of existing legal
violations, you may be able to build a component
Center for Popular Democracy | Wage Theft Landscape Analysis Tool (Updated July 2017)
Lessons from the Field
63
of a campaign around advocacy with/against the
state or local enforcement agency to do a better/
more strategic job enforcing existing laws.
Should you engage in budget advocacy?
As a piece of a campaign, it can be useful to
include budget advocacy for increased resources
to enforcement.
How do you plan to engage press and media?
Depending on the target, public pressure through
earned media and new media can help force
a beneficial settlement, align political players
against a bad actor, or push a public agency to
act on behalf of its constituents.
How can you leverage direct action?
Engaging members and supporters in
mobilizations and direct activity to create a crisis
and force a settlement or generate additional
public attention.
EMERGING OR RIPE LEGAL ISSUES
Organizing around local or state policy changes is an
important way to build support for the changes you’re
trying to win. Below a few of the many considerations
when taking on policy work.
Scope of policy work, including state
versus city level legislation
Which provides better tools to fix the problem?
(Cities often have narrower authority than
the states.)
Do you have the resources to mobilize at the
state level for particular legislation?
How easy will it be to integrate worker or
member leadership in the campaign?
(For example, trips to the state capitol are
challenging for members outside of major
metropolitan areas.)
What other potentially competing proposals are
pending that session?
Narrow vs. broad legislation
What are pros and cons of moving legislation
targeted just to a particular industries, for
example, versus legislation that is more broadly
applicable to workers?
State-specific context
How recently have major cities in your state
passed or amended laws in the area you
are considering?
What legislation has been introduced and has it
moved? Why or why not?
In terms of substantive issues to consider, there are
many. Included here are a few:
Regulatory fixes/enforcement
re labor standards
Does it make most sense to pursue:
Local wage theft regulation?
State wage lien bill (which permits worker
to obtain a “lien” for the wages owed in the
employer’s personal or real property prior to
winning judgment in court; game-changer
on collections)?
A state law that permits workers to sue “up
the chain?
Regulation of scheduling/forced part-time?
(This prevents employers from last-minute
changing workers’ schedules, which is major
problem in retail and restaurants.)
Temp agency regulation?
Fixes on subcontracting?
Anti-discrimination protections for credit
history? For unemployed status?
For criminal history?
Substantive/new rights
Do you seek to expand rights in the areas of:
Paid sick?
Minimum wage?
Living wage?
Child Care?
Restoring a fair workweek?
Non-labor policy or legislative hooks
Are there new policy or legislative hooks to
pursue, such as:
Environmental regulation?
Land use?
Consumer protection?
Center for Popular Democracy | Wage Theft Landscape Analysis Tool (Updated July 2017)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
64
Financial regulation?
Corporate accountability/sunshine/
transparency for large corporate actors?
(For instance, disclosure of employment
practices for local outlets and national data
or new requirements in city or state public
benefits to disclose employer and industry,
to permit data collection on extent of worker
reliance on public subsidies because of poor
wages/lack of benefits.)
ALLIES AND OPPONENTS
Think through the existing landscape and potential
allies and opponents. It also might be helpful to
prioritize the relationships you want to deepen
or create. Allies and opponents might include
the following:
Allies
Existing worker centers
Public health advocates
Poor people’s organizations
Latinx organizations
Civil Rights organizations
Community-based organizations that organize/
mobilize a base
Progressive political parties
Labor (including relevant locals)
Advocacy organizations
Legal clinics
Opponents
Business owners
Business associations
Chambers of Commerce
STRUCTURAL QUESTIONS
As you consider building new member organizing,
there will be extensive structural questions to explore,
including the following:
Can you integrate new members into existing
base-building organization, or do you want to
build an independent “committee,” program
area, or entity to house the organizing?
Should you integrate online and new media
organizing into membership structure and
leadership training programs?
Do you wish to pursue joint membership with
union local and community-based organization?
How can you structure relationships between
allied c3/c4/c5 organizations?
Are you tracking lobbying restrictions?
Are you considering funding restrictions on
the work?
Are existing staff, supervision, and management
resources adequate to cover the new work and
capacity to handle growth?
How can you best leverage your resources
(power, allies, etc.) to get what you want (i.e.
moving the state legislature)?
SERVICE PROVISION TO SUPPORT
THE ORGANIZING
It is helpful to keep in mind that there may be service-
provision opportunities to develop that can support
the organizing work.
Are members and workers in need of:
Legal services, either on workers’ rights
cases or more broadly (public benefits,
housing, etc.)? Adult education, including
GED-prep or ESOL classes?
Workforce development and job placement
supports, including “soft skills” courses
(resume prep, etc.) and “hard skills” (OSHA
health and safety training, technical skills for
particular types of jobs)?
Health care access/health services,
including enrollment in public health
insurance options or potentially the creation
of health benefits for members?
Other goods and services, such as low-cost
membership benefits, banking services, or
other “bundled” services for members?
Implementing a service component may be a much
larger undertaking, but may be something to consider
Center for Popular Democracy | Wage Theft Landscape Analysis Tool (Updated July 2017)
Lessons from the Field
65
when engaging in longer-term planning. In addition,
partnerships with existing service providers can be a
smart approach for meeting immediate needs.
FUNDING & RESOURCES
Finally, new campaigns and initiatives require
resources. Some questions to consider include:
Can you generate resources from foundations,
unions, grassroots/individual donor programs, etc.?
Is revenue-generation possible through
membership dues (including potential
collaboration with credit unions or local
banks to ease collection of dues)?
Are funders interested in:
The precise issues you want to target?
Secondary or subsidiary aspects of the
problem? (This can give you a chance to
leverage those resources to support the
primary work--e.g., city or county funding
for adult education or legal services that
might help fund a broad worker mobilization
effort; civic engagement funding; workforce
development, etc.)
Center for Popular Democracy | Wage Theft Landscape Analysis Tool (Updated July 2017)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
66
Appendix II: WASH NY Win Theory
“Carwasheros Taking Down the Boss Man” Campaign
Win Theory Basics:
We build citywide movement of car wash workers supported by solidarity allies – clergy, community organizations, unions, electeds – who
can disrupt the business of car washes and press employers to sign union contract.
We create incentives (“carrots”) for cooperative car washes to become our “high road” employers – they sign contract, and we steer
business their way (unions, taxiworkers, anyone with numerous vehicles that is willing to commit their business to signatory car washes).
We use wage & hour violations as hammer – AG complaints & possible litigation – to make an example of some uncooperative employers
and then to pressure our primary targets to sign contract in exchange for reduction in $$$ owed.
We add comprehensive campaign strategies to pressure uncooperative employers – hitting other businesses, financing sources, etc.
We move legislation (presumably city-level) to add pressure, push employers to coalesce into a group we can negotiate with, and/or improve conditions
for organizing going forward (bond, registration, environmental / health & safety rules, etc.)
November December January February March & Beyond
Decide on targeting
Pull in early
solidarity allies
Prep campaign
branding &
messaging
Finalize
pledge
cards
& short
contract
Place “industry trends” story in press
once worker spokespersons in place.
Line up organizers, volunteers
materials, messaging for blitz
Identify leaders at target employers &
prep for blitz & active campaign.
C O M P R E S S I O N P E R I O D
Intensive blitz training followed by 2 week (?) Blitz
NYCC, MRNY, RWDSU organizers & members build
citywide org & committees at target employers
If possible, make an example of non-target bad
actor employer with wage & hour case
Offer short contract to targets w/carrot
Release report on industry conditions – press
Pick a fight & disrupt business during compression
period – pickets, drop AG subpoena.
Introduce legislation
in
spring
Add to solidarity allies &
to “carrot” list
Add layers of pressure
on targets using
vulnerabilities
2
nd
Industry report
As employers sign, steer
business to them.
Make the Road New York (2011)
Targeting matrix – our ideal target has:
Hot worker organizing
Legal leverage – big-$$ wage & hour violations
The financial resources to pay for a union contract
Locations in MRNY & NYCC’s geographic areas of strength
Environmental – violations, bad practices to use in messaging with public and workers
Interesting $$ stuff – political contributions, money from a specific bank that we are going after, other businesses owned that make them vulnerable
An owner who is a good “face of evil” poster child – house in the Hamptons, unsympathetic, etc.
Own their own equipment vs. renting
Own their own land vs. renting
Ownership structure – independent vs. small chain vs. big chain –
A customer base that we can move – unions, organized community groups nearby, sympathetic community base
Make the Road New York (2011)
Make the Road New York (2011)
Lessons from the Field
67
AllianceofCaliforniansforCommunityEmpowerment(ACCE)Updated2017
CampaignGoal:
DecisionMakers/Targets:(politicians,companyexecs,etc) 
PrimaryTarget:
SecondaryTargets:
1)
2)
 
PotentialPhases:BuildingOurCase&  PublicLaunchoftheCampaign  EscalatingPublicPressure  HittingtheminthePublicSettlement
BuildingOurBase&MakingitPersonal&inthePocket
KeyCompression
Month:
Members

Actions/Public
Events
Research/Policy
Community/
Allies
AllianceofCaliforniansforCommunityEmpowerment(ACCE)Updated2017
Communications
Politics
Legal/Regulatory
Appendix III: Sample Campaign Template
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), (Updated 2017)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
68
Appendix IV: Make the Road New York WTPA
Campaign Plan
Core demand Pass the Wage Theft Prevention Act and make it law in New York.
The Wage Theft Prevention Act is a broad-reaching bill that increases
penalties for violations of existing minimum wage and overtime law;
tightens up protection for workers who are retaliated against by employers
trying to keep them from speaking up for their rights; and adds tools to
improve the ability of the DOL and courts to enforce wage and hour law.
Key provisions include:
 Increasing liquidated damages from 25% to 100% (liquidated damages
= the extra amount that workers can collect when they finally win a wage
and hour case, in addition to the original unpaid wages);
Adding real teeth to retaliation protections –
closing loopholes by, for example, making it illegal to threaten
employees in order to keep them from standing up for their rights
adding a special category of damages that employers must pay if
found to have retaliated against workers for exercising their rights
giving the Department of Labor the power to order the reinstatement
of fired workers
Giving new tools to courts and the Department of Labor to help actually
collect wages that are due so that employers found guilty of wage theft
can’t so easily hide their assets from workers.
Target 1) Sheldon Silver / Assembly Leadership
2) Senate Republicans & borderline Democrats
3) Governor Patterson
Intermediate Demands Assembly & Senate –
reconcile the two versions of the bill that passed the Senate & Assembly,
come to two-way agreement on something that will not draw a veto, and
bring it to the floor of both houses for a vote.
Intermediate Susan John, Labor Committee Chair in Assembly—has substantial
influence over “ok-ing” the substance of any bill that the Assembly
leadership will bring to a vote.
Targets Dean Fuelihan—has veto power over any problematic substance from
Assembly leadership perspective.
David Weinstein—sta person who has been negotiating with advocates
on behalf of the Exec. Very conservative perspectives on many points +
disclaimers that he is not promising whether Paterson will sign or veto,
make it dicult to predict the Governor’s positions
Upstate or marginal Assembly and Senate members—will help to
ease leadership fear of weakening their members who are in
conservative districts.
Make the Road New York (2010)
Lessons from the Field
69
Appendix IV: Make the Road New York WTPA
Campaign Plan (continued...)
Allies Steering Committee: Make the Road New York, UFCW Local 1500, RWDSU,
New York Communities for Change (NYCC), Working Families Party,
Laborers / Mason Tenders PAC
Elected Ocials and Sta:
Assembly—Carl Heastie, sponsor; Bronx assembly members allied
with Heastie; Hakeem Jeries; Brian Kavanaugh; Jerion Aubry; Dallas
Trombley (Assembly Labor Committee sta)
Senate—Diane Savino, sponsor; John Sampson; Kathrine Grainger &
Shelly Maier, Central Sta; Jose Peralta; Toby Ann Stavisky
Supporters:
Business: Morton Williams Supermarket (RWDSU employer), some
supermarket owners with contracts with Local 1500, Small Business
United—a project of MRNY, NYCOSH, Drum Major Institute,
Labor: New York State AFL–CIO (“State Fed”), SEIU Local 32bj, Hotel
Motel Trades Council, SEIU Local 1199, National Employment Law Project,
Communications Workers of America District 1
Legal Services Providers: MFY Legal Services, Urban Justice Center—
Community Development Project
Stimulus Alliance: Common Cause, Community Voices Heard, NYIC,
PUSH Bualo, Gamaliel, Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy
Coalition; NYCAHN (New York City Aids Housing Network)
NYS DOL leadership
Opponents Business Council and NFIB—the only two organizations that have
submitted memos in opposition.
Senate Republicans—one Republican (Padavan) voted in favor of the
legislation in the Senate.
NOTE—opposition has been weak—neither organization has really dug in on the
substance of the WTPA, and both memos primarily complained of burdens being
placed on employers to provide information to employees in languages other
than English… the provisions containing those requirements have since been
substantially altered to minimize the burden on law-abiding employers; the NYS
DOL will provide all translated materials for employer’s ease of use.
Potential Allies The Partnership for NYC (we reached out to try to get support—got no
response, but may at least be an indicator that for now the Partnership
will sit this one out.
 Business Council and NFIB could get wise and oppose the most recent
version in a more intelligent way.
Make the Road New York (2010)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
70
Campaign Strategy Position the legislation as a “no brainer” to support—no good faith
opposition / who can oppose it besides wage thieves?? It targets
bad actors!
 Position the legislation as HELPFUL to law-abiding employers:
Get support from small and large businesses willing to go on record—
union supermarkets, small businesses that are part of MRNY’s Small
Businesses United committee
Be disciplined with messaging—law–breaking employers are making it
hard for responsible businesses to compete, and that we have to have
real enforcement of wage & hour law in order to create a level playing
field for employers who want to treat their workers properly.
 Show broad labor support
Use UFCW Local 1500 and RWDSU to work with the State Fed to help
move the legislation, despite the fact that it may compete with other
labor priorities, like passing UI reform.
Pull in broad coalition of labor for limited action on campaign—
memos in support, limited asks of target politicians (i.e. 32bj to get
commitment from particular targets.)
Make sure labor support seems unanimous, even if some sectors
were less engaged—use deeply committed unions (Local 1500
& RWDSU especially) to line up CLC and other support. Work
through Laborers and our own relationships with 1199 to ensure that
construction unions, 1199 and others understand that we are in no way
complicating misclassification-related work they have ongoing.
 Attract press attention to wage theft epidemic ($1 billion annually stolen
from workers in NYC alone; 15% of the average worker’s income stolen by
his/her employer; workers terrified to come forward), resulting from low
likelihood that wage violators will be caught and tiny penalties, creating
perverse incentive: its cheaper to break the law and include the small risk
of getting caught into normal cost of doing business.
Current state of the
campaign
in the final days of June and the first day of July, the Senate and Assembly
BOTH passed strong versions of the WTPA. Assembly and Senate sta
are working hard to reconcile the two bills, with Deb & Amy very involved
in conversations.
Shelly Silver has indicated an interest in passing the bill—if we can come
up with a reconciled bill—after the general elections. Senate leadership
has been consistently supportive and will likely pass it if they can get
a quorum.
NOTE—opposition has been weak—neither organization has really dug in on the
substance of the WTPA, and both memos primarily complained of burdens being
placed on employers to provide information to employees in languages other
than English… the provisions containing those requirements have since been
substantially altered to minimize the burden on law–abiding employers; the NYS
DOL will provide all translated materials for employer’s ease of use.
Make the Road New York (2010)
Appendix IV: Make the Road New York WTPA
Campaign Plan (continued...)
Lessons from the Field
71
Member Roles:
MEMBER R’s—consult with other members
to determine priorities; help plan and
implement press actions, legislative visits,
post card collection, and other tactics;
participate in leadership team meetings and,
when necessary, emergency phone calls to
make key decisions during campaign.
Needed Research and Analysis:
Completed during early phases of campaign.
Will need to be reassessed before 2011, if
we don’t win the bill during 2010.
Base-Building Activities:
Mobilization for press events / protests
targeting individual employers as examples
of why we need the WTPA
Legislative visits—in district and in Albany.
Post card signing & collection
Press interviews
Leadership Development Activities (training,
ideological development, etc.)
Legislative visit trainings
Member-led legislative visits
Workshop discussions in member meetings
about what we might win and why / what
we can’t win and why not
Activities to move allies and/or
potential allies:
Use unions to get other unions on board
Briefings
Use JWJ to reach upstate labor allies
Activities to move or neutralize opponents
and/or potential opponents:
Get ahead of small business opposition by
putting forward pro-business messaging
and allies.
Activities to move targets:
Get ahead of small business opposition by
putting forward pro-business messaging
and allies.
Activities to move intermediate targets:
Get ahead of small business opposition
by putting forward pro-business messaging
and allies.
Direct Action and Mobilization Activities
OBJECTIVES FOR OCT & NOV
Ramp up energy & buzz around WTPA
Expand list of allies weighing in (upstate,
legal services providers, faith groups, etc…)
+ gather/distribute memos in support
Generate flurry of contacts by existing
allies to up the sense of urgency to pass it
this year: Legislative visits in district, Visits
to candidates, Post cards, Crew on site in
Albany the moment the legislature returns
Send message through press that WTPA did
NOT pass and needs to this year.
Get NY Times to do follow-up editorial (post-
general election?)
Press events on cases that demonstrate
need for WTPAMRNY targeted employers
+ Associated supermarkets (NYCC)
Get 2 versions reconciled
Facilitating 2-way negotiations between
Senate & Assembly [MRNY]
Supporting Carl Heastie in pushing
Assembly leadership to pass something
THIS year that can become law.
Make sure we can pass in Senate again—Pedro
Espada (MRNY members); Padavan—32bj or
building trades;
Lobby Paterson to sign bill
Prepare candidates / prep landscape for 2011
sessionFolks who may join legislature in 2011;
Cuomo; Schneiderman
Make the Road New York (2010)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
72
WEEKLY WORKPLAN OCT & NOV
NOTES Sta Tasks Member Tasks
1Mon Oct 11–
Sun Oct 17
 Facilitate weekly call of allies—
monitor their calls & visits to
electeds & post card collection
 Determine target employers for
press events.
 Get proposed compromise
language to Assembly Labor sta
2Mon Oct. 18
Sun Oct 24
Post cards
should start
arriving in
LOB.
 Facilitate weekly call of allies—
monitor their calls & visits to
electeds & post card collection
 Follow up with 32bj
 Reach out to elected
ocials to be included in
post–election protests
 Set up member leadership team
mtg for immediately
post–election
 Coordinate and accompany
members on Legislative visits
 Prepare for press events
post–election
District oce
legislative visits
3Mon Oct. 25
Sun Oct 31
 Facilitate weekly call of allies—
prep for postelection press
event participation, monitor post
card (schedule next call for
post–election)
 Coordinate and accompany
members on Legislative visits
 Prepare for press events
post-election
 Prepare press advisory and
packets for press events
post–election
District oce
legislative visits
Make the Road New York (2010)
Lessons from the Field
73
NOTES Sta Tasks Member Tasks
4Mon Nov. 1–
Sun Nov 7
ELECTION
DAY TUES
NOV 2
Somos in P.R.
Nov 4–7
Not good
week to get
Albany’s
attention
 Facilitate post-election call of
allies—prep for post-election
press event participation,
monitor post card
 Confirm members for Albany
visits when leg session resumes.
 Meet with member leadership
team to strategize post-election
 Reach out to NYTimes & Daily
News as soon as election press
dies down to try to get real
attention & follow up on NY
Times summer Op-Ed
 Draft post-vote press releases
with quotes from allies and
MRNY members
Meet with
member
leadership team
to strategize
immediately
post-election
5Mon Nov 8–
Sun Nov 14
Possible vote?
Post cards
arrive in LOB.
All principals
/ EDs of Allies
call Silver
& Sampson.
 Facilitate weekly call of
allies —monitor their calls
& visits to electeds & post
card collection
 Do turnout for Press events
MRNY hosting 1
participating in NYCC’s
Associated Supermarket
event!!
Be ready to visit Albany.
Resend Memos in
Support to legislators
when session resumes
Press events—
MRNY hosting
+ NYCC’s
Associated
Supermarket
event!!
Visit Albany if leg
session happens.
6Mon Nov 15
Sun Nov 21
Possible vote
Post cards
arrive in LOB.
All principals
/ EDs of Allies
call Silver
& Sampson.
 Do turnout for Press events
MRNY hosting another
Participating in NYCC’s
Associated event if not
prior week
Press events—
MRNY hosting
+ NYCC’s
Associated
Supermarket
litigation filing!!
Visit Albany if leg
session happens.
7Mon Nov 22–
Sun Nov 28
Thanksgiving
Week
Thanksgiving Week
8Mon Nov 29
Sun Dec 5
Possible
session
Visit Albany? Visit Albany?
WEEKLY WORKPLAN OCT & NOV (continued...)
Make the Road New York (2010)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
74
Appendix V
1
An effective message—one that reaches allies, stakeholders, policymakers, elected officials, and the
press—is key to a successful wage theft campaign. Effective messages work to persuade, to convey
a sense of urgency, highlight a crisis, and signal opportunities for action. In recent years, advocates
have developed highly effective messages that have built real momentum around worker issues:
In the Fight for $15, for example, workers mobilized to demand fairness, pitted against
mammoth corporations that could easily afford to provide a raise. In addition to drawing
attention to companies’ profit margins, the Fight for $15 highlights in a deeply relatable way
what a $15 hourly wage means in the life of a fast-food worker.
1
Another strong example, a 2015 feature in The New York Times on nail salon workers, elevated
a number of personal stories from salon workers which vividly brought to life to the challenges
they faced as victims of wage theft.
2
This brief aims to help advocates leverage the growing energy around economic inequality to
generate traction on the issue of wage theft. Wage theft is the illegal nonpayment of wages and
benefits workers are owed, including the failure to pay minimum wage or overtime, illegal deductions
from pay, work off the clock, or the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.
3
These unlawful deductions chip away at workers’ hard-earned wages and make it difficult for families
to meet their basic needs. Across the country each year, millions of workers experience wage theft.
A 2009 study by the National Employment Law Project in three major cities found that total annual
wage theft from front-line workers in low-wage industries approached $3 billion.
4
If these findings are
generalizable to the rest of the population, the Economic Policy Institute estimates that wage theft
costs America’s low-wage workers more than $50 billion each year.
5
Recently, a number of organizations have worked to identify the most promising messaging frames to
advance a strong economic justice agenda. However, these findings have not been widely circulated
among the advocates and organizations driving wage theft campaigns. This brief aims to link these
two worlds and to distill some key findings for use by advocates fighting wage theft. The following
is a synthesis of best practices from several recent studies that may be adapted to fit the needs of a
wage theft campaign.
Engaging the Base, Persuading the Middle, Alienating the Opposition
Two recent studies, one conducted by the AFL-CIO with ASO Communications and Lake Research
6
and another conducted by the Center for Community Change (CCC), also with ASO Communications
and Lake Research,
7
identified language for effective economic justice messaging. Both studies found
that a successful economic justice message accomplishes three simultaneous goals:
Motivates the base. A successful message resonates with those who are ready to embrace
progressive solutions as well as economic justice advocates and activists.
8
Convinces the persuadable. A successful message activates peoples progressive instincts and
makes solutions seem commonsense.
9
Best Practices for
Economic Justice Messaging
(2015)
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
Lessons from the Field
75
Best Practices for Economic Justice Messaging
CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY 2
Alienates the opposition. Conventional wisdom measures success by how much of the
opposition agree, when isolating the opposition is actually a more effective strategy.
10
Key Principals for Eective Economic Justice Messaging
Below are a number of key principals for effective messaging, adapted from the AFL-CIO, CCC, and
Topos Partnership.
Tell a story. Ideally, a message would open with a big picture narrative and then zoom in on a
particular individual to clearly illustrate the argument. Best practices include the following:
Make affected groups agents in their own story. Focus on removing the barriers that
impede people’s efforts to do right and thrive. Don’t focus on how people are passive
victims of poverty or position advocacy organizations as saviors.
11
Provide context for close-up stories. Big picture stories put policy recommendations in
context, while close-ups of individuals can attract attention but can also obscure the
broader context if broader themes are not introduced. When using close-up stories, it is
helpful to first establish broader themes and then focus on the solutions.
12
Talk about the basics. Show that workers are unable to afford basic necessities.
13
Example: “For our communities and economy to thrive, workers need to take home all
of their hard earned wages so that they have at least enough to spend on the basics/
necessities. When employers steal wages, people can’t afford food, or to go the doctor,
or to make basic repairs. It hurts all of us, as the economy slows down.
14
Provide an aspirational call to better lives that goes beyond purely financial issues.
15
Embrace and lead with progressive values. For example:
Family Comes First: Every working person deserves to be paid enough to set their kids
up for a bright future.
16
Community: Society is at its best when every striver has the opportunity to fulfill
their potential.
17
Value Work: People’s hard work should be recognized and rewarded.
18
A New Venture: America is a land of entrepreneurs, but people need a secure foundation
to pursue opportunities.
19
Name problems in an active voice. The passive voice obscures where poverty comes from
and what can be done about it.
20
Make clear that economic hardship results from deliberate
policy choices
21
—that human action deliberately created problems and that only deliberate
human action can fix them.
22
Example: “Profitable, powerful companies have been able to use their influence to avoid
accountability when they break the law.
23
Focus on the outcomes instead of policies and programs. For example, highlight “working
people take home all of the wages they’ve earned to their family,” over “new wage lien laws.
24
Emphasize the role of employer. Make clear that thriving communities and a strong
economy depend on employers providing reasonable compensation for work.
25
Remind
people that profitable companies could be better compensating their employees.
26
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
76
Best Practices for Economic Justice Messaging
CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY 3
Be strategic when mentioning the economy. Advocates have different approaches about
the best way to discuss the economy. Some suggest that “economy boosting” messages
should take a backseat to messages focused on “helping the family,” while others believe
that showing how a policy will strengthen the economy is a useful approach. Tips for striking
a balance between the two messages include the following:
When mentioning the economy, describe it as something out of balance that we can fix.
27
Relate the economy to thriving communities, which depend on employers providing
reasonable compensation for work.
28
Examples of Wage Theft Messages used by Advocates
The following wage theft messages have been used by community groups and advocates in talking
points, campaigns, and materials:
Message Best Practice
“Employers steal workers’ wages by failing to pay
overtime, failing to pay the minimum wage, taking
illegal deductions in paychecks, telling them to
work off-the-clock, calling employees freelancers
or independent contractorsor not paying them at
all.”
29
Emphasize the role of employer
“My boss refused to pay me my wages and tried
to lie about it, and I decided to file a claim. I had to
wait one year and five months to get my money. I
had to rely on my credit cards to survive. I had to
pay interest on those credit cards—why didn’t my
boss have to pay money on the money he owed me?
If employers had to pay interest on the money they
owed workers, they might think twice before stealing
our wages.”
30
Tell a powerful story from the
victims/worker’s perspective
“Workers suffer when they don’t get paid. Workers
in low-wage industries in the three cities of New
York, Chicago and Los Angeles lose over $56 million
per week in unpaid wages. That means bills go
unpaid, housing is unstable, and families have less
food on their tables.
31
Talk about the basics.
Mention the economy
(with caution).
“Local economies also suffer when wage theft
becomes a way of doing business. Well-meaning
businesses often can’t compete with wage cheats
that shave their operating costs by breaking the law.
And the less money wage earners bring home, the
less they have to spend at local businesses, dealing
a further blow to local economies already suffering
the effects of the Great Recession.
32
Emphasize the role of employer
Mention the economy
(with caution).
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
Lessons from the Field
77
Best Practices for Economic Justice Messaging
CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY 4
Words to Avoid Words to Embrace
Poor; working poor; low income Can’t make ends meet; living on the brink; working to
provide for family
Safety net Basic living standards; resources for our seniors
Entitlements Your health and retirement security
The top; the bottom Wealthiest; poorest
Unemployment rate rose CEOs fired more Americans; X handed out pink slips
Workers People; mothers; fathers; servers; cooks, nurses, etc.
Working people
Gap between the rich and poor Barriers between rich and the rest of us; obstacles for those
struggling
Reform social security/Medicare/welfare/etc. Improve, enhance, shore up social security/Medicare/
welfare
We You and I
America’s children; future generations; seniors on
Medicare
“that newborn you swear already smiles”; “your mom
fighting hard against cancer
34
Systemic inequities Greedy few rigged the game; corporations/CEOs have taken
advantage
Fight poverty; war on poverty; casualties of poverty Barriers to success, obstacles to economic stability
Economic inequality Economy off kilter; out of balance
Good for the economy Good for families/the nation
Bargain Speak up together
Wages to raise a family on Wages to sustain a family on
Low pay is bad Get paid for the work you do
Enact these policies Change the rules
Jobs Work
Falling wages Employers denying your pay
Economic opportunity Economic stability
Economy is rigged Rules are manipulated
Eective Language from AFL/CIO and CCC Studies
33
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
78
Best Practices for Economic Justice Messaging
CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY 5
1 “Breaking Now: New York Fast Food Workers Poised
to Make History,The Fight for $15, accessed June 17,
2015, http://fightfor15.org/
2 Sarah Maslin Nir, “The Price of Nice Nails,The
New York Times, May 7, 2015, http://www.nytimes.
com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-
manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html
3 Aditi Sen, “By a Thousand Cuts: The Complex
Face of Wage Theft in New York,” The Center
for Popular Democracy, November 2015, http://
populardemocracy.org/sites/default/files/
WageTheft%2011162015%20Web.pdf.
4 Annette Bernhardt et al, “Broken Laws, Unprotected
Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in
America’s Cities,” National Employment Law Project,
2009, http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/
BrokenLawsReport2009.pdf.
5 Brady Meixell and Ross Eisenbrey, “An Epidemic of
Wage Theft is Costing Workers Hundreds of Millions
of Dollars a Year,” September 11, 2014, http://www.
epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-
workers-hundreds/
6 “Words that Work,” AFL-CIO, 2015
7 “Messaging for Economic Justice,” Center
for Community Change, 2014, http://www.
communitychange.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
CCC-Research-Brief.pdf
8 “Words that Work,” AFL-CIO, 2015
9 Ibid.
10 “Messaging for Economic Justice,” Center
for Community Change, 2014, http://www.
communitychange.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
CCC-Research-Brief.pdf
11 Ibid.
12 “Framing Checklist for Job Quality Policy
Communicators,” Topos, http://boostorbustresources.
topospartnership.com/uploads/post/attachment/130/
Framing_checklist_Boost_or_Bust.pdf
13 Ibid.
14 Adapted from “Framing Job Quality: Scheduling, Paid
Leave, and More,” Topos, April 2015, http://www.
topospartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/
Framing-Job-Quality-Final.pdf
15 “Words that Work,” AFL-CIO, 2015
16 “Words that Work,” AFL-CIO, 2015; “Messaging for
Economic Justice,” Center for Community Change,
2014, http://www.communitychange.org/wp-content/
uploads/2014/07/CCC-Research-Brief.pdf
17 “Messaging for Economic Justice,” Center
for Community Change, 2014, http://www.
communitychange.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
CCC-Research-Brief.pdf
18 “Words that Work,” AFL-CIO, 2015
19 Ibid.
20 “Messaging for Economic Justice,” Center
for Community Change, 2014, http://www.
communitychange.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
CCC-Research-Brief.pdf
21 Ibid.
22 “Words that Work,” AFL-CIO, 2015
23 Adapted from “Framing Job Quality: Scheduling, Paid
Leave, and More,” Topos, April 2015, http://www.
topospartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/
Framing-Job-Quality-Final.pdf
24 “Words that Work,” AFL-CIO, 2015
25 “Framing Job Quality: Scheduling, Paid Leave,
and More,” Topos, April 2015, http://www.
topospartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/
Framing-Job-Quality-Final.pdf
26 “Framing Checklist for Job Quality Policy
Communicators,” Topos, http://boostorbustresources.
topospartnership.com/uploads/post/attachment/130/
Framing_checklist_Boost_or_Bust.pdf
27 “Messaging for Economic Justice,” Center
for Community Change, 2014, http://www.
communitychange.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
CCC-Research-Brief.pdf
28 “Framing Job Quality: Scheduling, Paid Leave,
and More,” Topos, April 2015, http://www.
topospartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/
Framing-Job-Quality-Final.pdf
29 NY Coalition Against Wage Theft, Accessed
December 2015, http://coalitionagainstwagetheft.
org/; As with any written material, it is important to
be attentive to the accuracy of the claims you make
and the support you have for your claims. This will be
critical if you are sued for defamation by an unhappy
employer.
30 “Worker wins her stolen wages after 1 year & 5
years,” Workers’ Action Centre, September 16, 2015,
http://www.workersactioncentre.org/updates/worker-
wins-her-stolen-wages-after-1-year-5-months/
31 “Winning Wage Justice: Talking Points on the
Need for Stronger Anti-Wage Theft Laws,”
National Employment Law Project, January 2012,
http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/
WinningWageJusticeTalkingPoints.pdf
32 Ibid.
33 Chart is a combination of best practices from AFL/CIO
and CCC studies.
34 Adapted from “Messaging for Economic Justice,
Center for Community Change, 2014, http://www.
communitychange.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
CCC-Research-Brief.pdf
Notes
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
Lessons from the Field
79
Appendix VI: WTPA Comparison of both bills and
existing law
Make the Road New York (2010)
WageTheftPreventionActnS8380(Savino)nA10163-b(Heastie)
Currentlaw
AssemblyVersion
SenateVersion
MealBreaks&DayofRest
CurrentLaw:Workerscango
toDOLtoenforcemealbreaks
&dayofrest-butdon’tget$$
themselves.
Privaterightofactionforemployeestoenforcerights
themselves.
Removesthisprovisionb/ctoocomplicatedin
practiceandmanyemployeesforgoodreasondon’t
wanttotaketheirmealbreaks(likerestaurant
workerswhowouldberequiredtotakemealin
middleoftheirshift)
NoticeofWageRate
Currentlaw:Employerhasto
giveanoticeattimeofhire
includingwagerate.
Employernoticemustincludemoredetailabouthow
wagerateisset,plusinfoaboutemployeridentityand
anyonewhohas20%ownershipintheemployer.
EmployermustuseDOL-providedtranslations-DOL
musttranslateinto7languages.
Removesinfoaboutownersofbusinessb/cofriskof
vetoandcomplicationsforpubliclytraded
companies.
LetsDOLdecidehowmanylanguagesandwhich
onestoprovide-innotice.
PayStubsandPayrollRecords
CurrentLaw:Rulesincludedin
theWTPAalreadyexist-but
arehiddeninregulations.
Employermustprovidepaystubs-likecurrently
mandatedbuthiddeninregulationsthatmany
employersdon’tknowtocheck.
Samebasicprovisions.
EmployeeRighttoInspectPayroll
Records
Currentlaw:Norightexists
Givesemployeestherighttoinspecttheirpayroll
recordsuponrequest.
Removesprovisionbecauseofvetorisk-burdenon
responsibleemployers+concernthatemployees
withshadylawyerscandigforminorthingstosue
over.
PowersofCommissionertoRequire
AccountingofAssetsafterEmployer
DefaultsonanOrdertoComply
Currentlaw:DOLhasno
powertodothis&hashard
timefindingassetsand
collecting$$owed.
(1) IFtheDOLfindsemployerguiltyofwagetheft;
(2) ANDtheDOLissuesanOrdertoComply;
(3) IFthetimetoappealthatOrdertoComplyhas
expiredANDemployerhasnotobeyedtheDOL’s
order…
THENDOLcanrequireemployertoshowalistingof
assets.
Sameprovision
Bonds
Currentlaw-DOLcanrequire
employertopostbondbut
mustspendtaxpayerdollarsto
docketjudgmentincourtfirst.
BothbillsprovideCommissionerdiscretiontorequire
employertopostbondafterdefaultonorderto
comply(notafterdocketingadministrativeorderin
court,asiscurrentlyrequired).
BothbillsprovideCommissionerdiscretionto
requireemployertopostbondafterdefaulton
ordertocomply(notafterdocketingadministrative
orderincourt,asiscurrentlyrequired).
DOLInvestigationsandAdministrative
Orders
CodifiesmaintainingBothbillscodifyexistingDOL
policyofmaintainingconfidentialityoftheidentityof
BothbillscodifyexistingDOLpolicyofmaintaining
confidentialityoftheidentityofemployeeswhoare
Make the Road New York (2010)
employeeswhoaresubjectofinvestigationaslongas
possible.
BothbillscodifyexistingDOLpolicyofinvestigating
third-partycomplaintsofviolations.
subjectofinvestigationaslongaspossible.
BothbillscodifyexistingDOLpolicyofinvestigating
third-partycomplaintsofviolations.
RetroactiveClaimsofTipandMeal
Allowances
Codifiescourtdecisionsthatemployercannot
retroactivelyclaimallowances(e.g.tipormeal
allowances)againstminimumwageobligationwhen
employerfailstomaintainpayrollrecordsorprovide
employeeswagestatementsreflectingallowances.
Removesthisprovisionbecauseofriskofveto.
CalculationofUnpaidOvertime
Providesthatwhereemployerfailstoprovide
employeenoticeofovertimerate,maintainpayroll
recordsreflectingtheovertimerate,orprovide
employeewithpaystubsshowingtheovertimerate,
thecorrectovertimerateofpaywillbecalculatedby
dividingthetotalwagespaidperweekby40hoursor
actualhoursworked,whicheverisless(acalculation
resultinginahigherovertimerate).
Removesthisprovisionbecauseofriskofveto.
BurdenShifting
RemovesexistingLaborLawtextandinsertsnewtext
providingthatwhereemployerfailstomaintain
payrollrecords,employeetestimonyformstheproper
basisofcalculationabsentspecificrebuttalevidence
bytheemployer.
ReturnstoexistinglawbecauseAttorneyGeneral
andDOLhavespecificneedsforcasesinvolving
manyworkersthatmightbeaffectednegativelyby
theoriginalWTPAtext.
CivilPenaltiesforSexDiscriminationin
Pay
ClosesloopholetogiveDOLtheabilitytohandlethese
claimsthroughtheirnormaladministrativeprocess
ratherthangoingtocourt.
SameasAssembly.
LiquidatedDamages
Currentlaw:only25%ontop
ofamountofunpaidwages
Bothbillsincreaseliquidateddamagesonunpaid
wagesfrom25%to200%incourtaction.[Seven
statesprovidefor200%liquidateddamages(AZ,ID,
MA,NM,OH,MDandME).]
Reducesliquidateddamagesto100%(double
damages)inresponsetoexecutiveconcerns.
ClassActions
Currentlaw:noliquidated
damagesavail.inclassactions.
Providesforliquidateddamagesinclassaction
litigation.
Removesthisprovisionb/cofvetorisk.
IncreasingDamagesafterDefaultona
Judgment
Whereemployerdefaultsonpayingjudgmentfor
morethan90days,afterthejudgmentisfinal,the
SameasAssembly.
Make the Road New York (2010)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
80
WTPA Comparison of both bills and existing law
(continued...)
Make the Road New York (2010)
Currentlaw:nopenaltyin
existinglaw
employermustpayanadditional15%additional
damagestopartiallycoverthecosttotheemployeeof
collectingonthejudgment.(Collectionsagencies
typicallycharge30-40%oftheamountcollected,
whichtheWORKERhastopay.Proposedtextisaless
aggressiveversionoftheAZrule,whichautomatically
triplesamountofjudgmentwhenemployerdefaults
for10days.
CriminalPenaltiesforFlat-out
NONpaymentofWages
Currentlaw:
First-offensemisdemeanor
withapenaltyof$500to
$20,000,upto1yrinprison.
2
nd
offense-felonywith$500
to$20,000fineandupto1
yearand1dayinprison.
Increasesthemisdemeanorfineto$2,500ortwicethe
underpayment,whicheverisgreater.
On2
nd
offense-definesasaclassEfelonywith$1,000
fineortripletheamountofunderpayment,whichever
isgreater
Addsnewerbusinessforms(partnerships,limited
liabilitycorporations)tothelistoftypesofemployers
coveredunderthisprovision.Nootherchanges.
Addsnewerbusinessforms(partnerships,limited
liabilitycorporations)tothelistoftypesof
employerscoveredunderthisprovision.Noother
changes.
Otherwisekeepsexistinglawthesame.
CriminalpenaltiesinSenateversionsubstantially
lessseverethaninAssemblyB-print.
CriminalPenaltiesforNonpaymentof
MinimumWageandOvertime
Currentlaw:ClassB
Misdemeanor
Increasesthemisdemeanorfineto$2,500ortwicethe
underpayment,whicheverisgreater.
On2
nd
offense-definesasaclassEfelonywith$1,000
fineortripletheamountofunderpayment,whichever
isgreater+
Addsnewerbusinessforms(partnerships,limited
liabilitycorporations)tothelistoftypesofemployers
coveredunderthisprovision.Nootherchanges.
Closesloopholebydefiningcriminalpenalties
exactlythewaytheyaredefinedundercurrentNY
LawapplyingtoNONpayment.
CriminalpenaltiesinSenateversionsubstantially
lessseverethaninAssemblyB-print.
CriminalPenaltiesforRetaliation
Currentlaw:
Retaliationagainstaworker
forfilingacomplaintthatheis
notgettingpaidminimum
wageorovertimeisaClassB
Movesmisdemeanorforretaliationfromthe
MinimumwagearticleintoSection215,whereillegal
retaliationisdefined.
Expandsthetypesofcomplaintsthatwillbeprotected
bythemisdemeanor,toincludecomplaintsabout
nonpaymentofwagesandallotherwage-and-hour
Retaliation--aswithAssemblyversion,
CriminalpenaltymovedfromMinimumWageArticle
toSection215.
UnlikeAssemblyversion,Senateversionleavesas
ClassBoffense(muchlowerpenalty,upto3months
prison+$500fine,perPenalLaw70.15)
Make the Road New York (2010)
misdemeanor(=3months
maxinprison+max$500fine)
BUTaloopholemeansthatit
isNOTamisdemeanorto
retaliateagainstsomeonefor
filingacomplaintabout
absoluteNONpayment.
rights.
ChangesfromClassBmisdemeanortodefined
misdemeanorwithhigherpenalties.($500to$10,000
fineandupto1yearimprisonment)
2
nd
offenseforretaliation-felony($500to$20,000
fine+upto1yearand1dayinprison)
Criminalpenalty
forfailuretoprovidenoticeofwage
rateunder§195(1),andkeeppayroll
records
Currentlaw,butONLYfor
payrollrecords
Misdemeanorwith$500to
$5,000fine+upto1yearin
prison.
Secondoffense-felonywith
$500to$20,000fineand/or1
year&1dayinprison
Makessamecriminalpenaltiesalsoapplytofailureto
providenoticeofwageratethatemployersmustgive
employeesattimeofhire.
Doesnotexpandcriminalpenaltiesinthisarea.
Criminalpenaltyfordefacing
government-orderedpostingof
violations.
Currentlaw:Notapplicable
b/cthisisanewpowerofthe
DOLprovidedbyWTPA
Misdemeanorforremovingordefacinga“tag”placed
onillegallymanufactureditemsbyDOL.
Misdemeanorforremovingordefacinganotice
postedonwageviolator’spremisesforpublic
viewing.(NoticeisauthorizedwhenDOLfindsan
employertohavewillfullyviolatedwage&hourlaw;
noticecanonlystayupfor90days.)
Note:DOLcanalsopostanoticeforemployee
viewing,butthereisnocriminalpenaltyfordefacing
orremovingit.
“Tagging”provisionnotincludedinbillbecauseof
DOLobjection.
Retaliation-Existinglawprohibits
retaliationbuthasmanyloopholes.
Closesloopholesonwhatactionsconstituteprohibited
retaliation(ex:Prohibitsthreats,prohibitsretaliation
bypeoplewhoarenottechnically“employers”but
haveactedtoterrorizeworkerswhospeakupagainst
DoessameasAssemblyEXCEPT:
DoesnotincludePresumptionofRetaliationand
prohibitionagainst“conductthatwoulddetera
reasonableworkerfromassertingrights”-because
Make the Road New York (2010)
Lessons from the Field
81
WTPA Comparison of both bills and existing law
(continued...)
Make the Road New York (2010)
violations,protectsemployeeswhomakereasonable
goodfaithcomplaintaboutsomethingthatturnsout
tonotbealegalviolation)
Prohibitsconductthatwoulddeterareasonable
workerfromassertingrightsprotectedunderthe
LaborLaw.
Addspresumptionofretaliationforadverseconduct
within90daysofprotectedemployeeconduct.
ProvidesCommissionerwithalltools,including
orderingreinstatement,toremedyretaliation,making
commissioner’spowermatchthatofcourts.
ofseriousriskofveto.
LiquidatedDamagesforRetaliation
Currentlaw:None
$150adaytovictimizedworkeruntilconclusionof
violation.
Upto$10,000tovictimizedworker
WaivingRightsUnderWageandHour
Law
RightsundertheArticlecannotbewaivedorreleased
exceptpursuanttoasettlementdeemedfairand
equitablebyacourtofcompetentjurisdiction.
RemovesthisbecauseExecwantstomakesurethe
AGandDOLcansettlecaseswithoutgoingtocourts
forapproval.
TollingStatuteofLimitations
Bothbillstollthestatuteoflimitationsduring
investigationsbytheCommissioner.(Modeledafter
AZandNMlaw,Ariz.Rev.Stat§364(h)andN.M.Stat.
Ann.§37-1-5.)IncaseofdelayinDOLinvestigation
duetolackofresources,thisletstheworkerstillget
thetotalamounttheywereduewhenthe
investigationstarted.
SameasAssembly
DOLProcess
RequiresDOLtocopyclaimantonallcommunications
toemployerincludingcalculationofwagesordamages
tobeassessedfortheclaimantandbeprovidedan
opportunitytocontestthefactualbasisofthe
calculationpriortosettlementorissuancetocomply.
Removedbecauseofriskofvetoandsubstantial
fiscalimpact.
TranslationofNoticespostedby
employers
RequiresemployerstopostallDOL-requirednoticesin
anylanguagespokenbyatleast10%oftheworkforce.
Nonewrequirementsforemployers.
Make the Road New York (2010)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
82
Appendix VII: WTPA A10163-b S8380 and
Current Law
MaketheRoadNewYork/M&R
WageTheftPreventionActS8380(Savino)A10163b(Heastie)
1.DefinitionSection
A10163b§2:AmendstoexplicitlyprovidethatregulationspassedpursuanttotheLaborLaware
incorporated,byreference,toanymentionintheLaborLawof“chapter,article,section.”Overrules
NewYorkAppellateDivisiondecisioninEpifanithatheldthatantiretaliationprovisionsoftheLabor
Lawdonotapplytoemployeecomplaintsaboutovertime,sinceovertimeisprovidedbyregulation
ratherthanstatute.
S8380§2:SameprovisionasAssembly.
2.MealBreaksandDayofRest:StatutoryDamages
CurrentLaw:NYLLArt.5:DOLenforcesworkers’righttomealbreaksanddayofrestandassesses
penaltyfornoncompliance.Noprivaterightofactionordamagesgotoworkerundercurrentlaw.
A10163b§3:Providesnewprivaterightofactionforemployeestoenforceexistingmeal/dayof
restrightsandprovidesnewstatutorydamagesforviolations.Damagesareavailabletoemployees
notexemptfromovertimeunderstatelaw.Sixyearstatuteoflimitation.Mealbreakdamages:one
hourofpayattheemployee’sregularrateofpayforeachworkdayemployerfailstoprovidemeal
period(recoverableinclassactions).Dayofrestdamages:anextrahourofpayforeachhour
workedon7thdayofworkatemployee’sregularrateofcompensation(recoverableinclass
actions).
S8380:Doesnotincludethisprovision.
3.NoticeofWageRates
Currentlaw:NYLLArt.6,§195(1)Employermustgiveanoticeattimeofhireofwagerate.Notice
requiredinEnglishonly.Noupdatingofnoticerequiredwheninformationchanges.Nodamagesto
workerforemployer’sfailuretoprovidenotice.ContentofnoticeislefttoDOLtodetermine.
A10163b§§4,8
oCodifiesdirectlyinstatutetheinformationtobeincludedonwageratenotice.Requires
disclosureofnewinformation,includingemployers’“doingbusinessas”namesandaddress.
oRequiresDOLtotranslatenoticeformsintoatleast7languagesandrequiresemployertouse
suchtranslations.
oRequiresemployertoprovideupdatednoticetoemployeeonFeb.1stofeachyearandseven
daysinadvanceofanychangeininformationcontainedinnotice.
oDamages:Employeesmayrecover$50perweekthatnoticeisnotprovided,cappedat$2500.
Damagesrecoverableinclassactions.
oAffirmativedefense:employercanshow“goodcause”forfailuretoprovidenotice.
S8380§§3,7SameasAssemblyversionexceptasfollows.
oGivesDOLdiscretionastohowmanytranslationstoprovideratherthanmandatingatleast7.
ProtectsemployeragainstliabilityforanyDOLerrorsintranslation.
oRequiresemployeetoselfidentifyprimarylanguageandverifythatdidsocorrectly.
oRequires7dayadvancenoticeofchangesonlyifsuchchangesnotreflectedinpaystub.[Also
requiresemployertoprovideupdatednoticetoemployeeonFeb.1stofeachyear.]
oAffirmativedefense:(1)employertimelypaidallwagesdueunderlawor(2)thatemployer
“reasonablybelievedingoodfaith”thatitwasnotrequiredtoprovidenotice.
oDamages:Senateversionspecifiesthatemployeescanrecoverdamagesifemployeesarenot
providednoticewithin10daysoffirstdayofworkandifneitheraffirmativedefenseapplies
4.PayStubsandPayrollRecords
ComparisonExistingNYLaborLawS8380A10163bJuly7,2010Page1
Make the Road New York /M&R (2010)
Lessons from the Field
83
MaketheRoadNewYork/M&R
Currentlaw:NYLLArt.6,§195(3)&(4):Requirementstomaintainpayrollrecordsandprovide
paystubsalreadyexistbutarecontainedinvariousregulationsratherthaninstatute.Currently
regulationsrequireemployerstomaintainrecordsfor6years,butthestatuteitselfonlystates3
years.Nodamagespaidtoworkerforfailuretoprovidepaystubsandmaintainpayrollrecords.
A10163b§§4,8:Movesexistingrequirementsrepayrollrecordsandpaystubsfromregulationto
statute.Codifiesexistingrequirementthatrecordsbemaintainedfor6years.Clarifiesinformation
tobemaintained,suchashowtorecordpieceratepayments.Providesprivaterightofactionand
statutorydamageswhenemployerfailstoprovidepaystubs.Employeerecoversdamagesof$100
perweekthatviolationsoccur.Recoverableinclassaction.[Nodamagesorprivaterightofaction
forworkerwhereemployerfailstokeeppayrollrecords.]
S8380§§3,7:Samebasicprovisions,except:removesproposedlanguageconcerning
commissionedemployeessincespecificregulatoryprovisionsalreadyregulaterecordsandpaystubs
forcommissionedemployeesindetail.Damagesof$100perworkweekbutcappedat$2,500total.
Affirmativedefensetoassessmentofdamagesforfailuretoprovidepaystub:(1)employertimely
paidallwagesdueunderlawor(2)thatemployer“reasonablybelievedingoodfaith”thatitwasnot
requiredtoprovidepaystub.[Nodamagesorprivaterightofactionforworkerwhereemployerfails
tokeeppayrollrecords.]
5.EmployeeInspectionofPayrollRecords
CurrentLaw:Norightexists
A10163b§§4,8:Givesemployeestherighttoinspecttheirpayrollrecordsuponrequestforfull6
yearstatuteoflimitationperiod.Employermustcomplywithin30daysofdateofrequest.Damages
of$50perworkweektoemployee(throughcourtaction)and$50perdaytoemployee(through
DOLinvestigation),bothcappedat$2500.Recoverableinclassactions.
S8380§3:Doesnotincludethisprovision.
6.DOLInvestigationsAdministrativeProcess
Confidentialityandthirdpartycomplaints:
oCurrentlaw:NoexplicitstatutoryprovisionbutDOLpracticeistomaintainconfidentialityof
employeesduringinvestigationandinvestigatethirdpartycomplaints.Noexplicitrulere:
notificationofclaimantofcalculationsofwagesowed.
oA10163b§6:CodifiesexistingDOLpolicyofmaintainingconfidentialityandinvestigatingthird
partycomplaints.
oS8380§5:identicaltoAssemblyversion.
CopyingclaimantoncommunicationswithER:
oCurrentlaw:nostandardpracticeonadvisingclaimantofamountofassessmentduring
investigation.
oA10163b§10:RequiresDOLtocopyclaimantonallcommunicationstoemployerincluding
calculationofwagesordamagestobeassessedfortheclaimantandbeprovidedanopportunity
tocontestthefactualbasisofthecalculationpriortosettlementorissuancetocomply.
oS8380:RemovedprovisionduetoDOLconcernsandanticipatedfiscalimpact.
Obligationtoinvestigatecomplaintsanddiscretiontoinstitutecriminalproceedings:
oNYLLArt.6,§196(a)and(c):obligatesDOLtoinvestigateandtoattempttoresolvecomplaints
under“Article”(Art.6,nonpaymentofwages).Loophole:doesnotcontemplateinvestigationof
minimumwagecomplaints,retaliation,orothers.AllowsCommissionertoinstitutecriminal
proceedingsunder“thisarticle”meaningonlyArt.6(nonpaymentofwages).
oA10163b§5:Substitutesword“chapter”for“article,”thuscoveringanykindofcomplaint
underthefullLaborLaw.
oS8380§4:Substitutesarticles5,6,7,19and19A,ratherthan“chapter”inplaceoftheword
“article”thusexpandingcoveragetotypicalwageissues(retaliation,mealbreaks,minimum
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wage&overtime)butnotexpandingcoveragetoentireLaborLaw(whichincludesUI,prevailing
wage,etc.).
7.TollingStatuteofLimitationsduringDOLInvestigation
CurrentLaw:none.
A10163b§§3,8,12:TollsSOLduringDOLinvestigationfromfilingofcomplaintbyemployee.
S8380§§7,10:TollsSOLduringDOLinvestigationfromfilingofcomplaintbyemployeeORfrom
datethatDOLinitiatesaninvestigation.
8.DOLPowertoAssessCivilPenaltiesforSexDiscriminationinPay
Currentlaw:NYLLArt.6,§197:DOLcanassesspenaltycurrentlybutonlythroughcourtaction.
A10163b§7:Closesloophole,allowingDOLtoassesspenaltythroughadministrativeactiontoo.
S8380§6:IdenticaltoAssemblyversion.
9.TranslationofNoticesPostedbyEmployers
Currentlaw:NYLLArt.7,§201:DOLhasdiscretiontotranslatenotices.
A10163b§11:RequiresDOLtotranslateallnoticescontemplatedby§201intoatleast7languages.
Requiresemployerstopostthosenoticesinanylanguagespokenbyatleast10%oftheworkforce
whenaDOLtranslationisavailable.
S8380:leaves§201unchangedfromcurrentlaw.
10.RetroactiveClaimsofTipandMealAllowances
CurrentLaw:Noexplicitstatutoryprovision.Caselawprohibitsretroactiveclaimsofmealortip
allowanceswhereemployerfailedtomaintainpayrollrecordsorprovideemployeeswagestubs
reflectingallowances.SeePadillav.Manlapaz,643F.Supp.2d302,209(E.D.N.Y.2009).
A10163b§§6,8,&18:CodifiesManlapazdecisiondirectlyinstatute.
S8380Doesnotincludethisprovision.
11.CalculationofUnpaidOvertime
CurrentLaw:Tocalculateproperovertimerate,youtypicallydividethetotalwagespaidbythetotal
hoursactuallyworked.
A10163b§§6,8,&18:Providesthatwhereemployerfailstoprovideemployeenoticeofovertime
rate,maintainpayrollrecordsreflectingtheovertimerate,orprovideemployeewithpaystubs
showingtheovertimerate,thecorrectovertimerateofpaywillbecalculatedbydividingthetotal
wagespaidperweekby40hoursoractualhoursworked,whicheverisless(acalculationresultingin
ahigherovertimerate).
S8380:Doesnotincludethisprovision.
12.BurdenShiftingonProofofWagesPaidCourtActions
CurrentLaw:Nothinginthestatute,butcaselawmakesclearthatareasonableestimatebythe
employee,absentcrediblerebuttalbyemployer,isproperbasisofcalculationofwage.(Follows
federalMt.Clemens(Andersonetal.v.Mt.ClemensPotteryCo.,328U.S.680(1946))standardfor
burdenshifting.)
A10163b§§6,8:IncludeslanguageintendedtocodifyMt.Clemensstandardfromcaselaw,namely
thatemployee’s“credibletestimony”formsproperbasis.
S8380:DoesnotcontainprovisionoutofconcernthatasoriginallyproposedinSenateandinthe
formpendinginA10163b,couldmakelawworsebyrequiringlivetestimonyfromeveryemployee,
whichinclassactionsorlargeDOLorAGinvestigationsisnotfeasible.
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13.BurdenShiftingonProofofWagesPaidAdministrativeProcess
NYLLArt.6,§196a(a):providesthatwhereemployerfailstomaintain“adequate”records,the
employershallbearfullandunchangingburdenofprovingthewagesactuallypaid.
A10163b§6:Removesword“adequate”fromexistinglawandreplaceswithtextspecifying
burdenshiftingrule,largelybasedonMt.Clemensstandard.
S8380:BasedonfeedbackfromDOLthatexistingstatutorytextisinfactstronger,asinterpretedby
BIA,Senateversionretainsstatutorylanguagefromcurrentlawanddoesnotsubstituteburden
shiftingtextasincludedinAssemblyversion(andoriginalSenateWTPA).
14.LiquidatedDamagesonWageClaims
NYLLArt.6,§198(paymentofwagesclaim),Art.19§663(minimumwageandOTclaim):current
lawprovides25%liquidateddamages.Notrecoverableinstatecourtclassactionsbecause
prohibitedbyCPLR901(b).FollowingrecentSupremeCourtdecision,stateliquidateddamagesare
recoverableinstateclaimsbroughtinclassactionsinfederalcourtbecauseCPLR901(b)is
consideredaproceduralrulethatdoesnotapplyinfederalcourt.SeeShadyGroveOrthopedic
Assocs.,P.A.v.AllstateIns.Corp.,2010U.S.LEXIS2929(U.S.Mar.31,2010).
A10163b§§8,18:Increasesliquidateddamagesto200%.Explicitlyprovidesforrecoveryinclass
actions.RequiresDOLtoassessatleast50%liquidateddamagesineverycase.
S8380§§7,16:Increasesliquidateddamagesto100%.Doesnotexplicitlyprovideforrecoveryin
classactions.DoesnotsetminimumamountofliquidateddamagesforDOLtoassessinall
investigations.
Note:Bothversionsofbillrequireassessmentoffullliquidateddamagesinanordertocomply
issuedbyDOLpursuantto§218or§219.Assemblyversionincludestextsayingmaximumamount
available.Senateversionspecifiesexactdamagesat100%.
15.Retaliation
NYLLArt.7,§215Existinglawprohibitsretaliationbuthasmanyloopholes.Noliquidateddamages.
Loopholesincasesofretaliatorydischargeforundocumentedorlowwageworkers.
Undocumentedworkershaveessentiallynoremedy,sincetheyareineligibleforbackpayafter
retaliatorydischargeandineligibleforreinstatement.Lowwagedocumentedworkersrecoverlittle
ifanythingininstancesofretaliatorydischarge,sincetheytypicallyobtainnewemploymentalmost
immediatelyandthusbackpayawardisdeminimisandreinstatementisnotrelevantremedy.DOL
lacksthepowerstoremedyretaliationthatwouldbeavailableincourt‐suchasordering
reinstatementandbackpay.
A10163b§12
oClosesloopholes:prohibitsthreatsofretaliationandconductthatwoulddeterareasonable
workerfromassertingrightsprotectedundertheLaborLaw.Prohibitsretaliationbecausean
employee“hasbeeninformed,orhasinformedanotherperson,abouthisorherrights”under
theLaborLaw.
oCreatespresumptionofretaliationforadverseactionw/in90daysofprotectedemployee
conduct.
oProvidesCommissionerwithalltools,includingorderingreinstatement,toremedyretaliation,
makingcommissioner’spowermatchthatofcourts.
oExplicitlydefines“employee”toincludeanycurrentorformeremployee.
oIncludesprohibitionagainstretaliationby“anyperson”notjustthosewhomeettechnical
definitionof“employer”undertheLaborLaw(e.g.,wifeofemployer,manager,etc.).[Inclusion
ofphrase“anyperson”inadvertentlynotaddedintwoplacesinsectiondealingwithremedies
andenforcement.]
oDamages:addsnewliquidateddamagessetataminimumof$150adaytovictimizedworker.
S8380§10DoessameasAssemblyEXCEPT:
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oDoesnotincludepresumptionofretaliation
oDoesnotspecifydefinitionofemployeetoincludecurrentandformeremployees.
oDoesnotprohibit“conductthatwoulddeterareasonableworkerfromassertingrights.”
oAmendsnameof§215from“Penaltiesandcivilaction;employerwhopenalizesemployees
becauseofcomplaintsofemployerviolations”to“Penaltiesandcivilaction;prohibited
retaliation.”
oIncludesprohibitionagainstretaliationby“anyperson”andadds“anyperson”totwoother
placesinsectiontoclarifyintentoftheprovisionandfacilitateenforcement.
oDamages:Addsnewliquidateddamagesofupto$10,000tovictimizedworker.Because“any
person”isincludedinS8380,billexplicitlystatesthatthisnewcategoryofliquidateddamagesis
theonlyavailableremedyforretaliationbyapersonwhodoesnotmeetdefinitionofemployer.
(tomakeclearthatnonemployerscannotbeheldliableforbackwages,reinstatement,etc.)
16.PostingNoticesofNYLaborLawViolations
Currentlaw:DOLcan“tag”goodsillegallymanufacturedinapparelindustryonly.
A10163b§15:Expandsexisting“tagging”powertoallgoodsmanufacturedorassembledin
violationofArt6,19or19A.
S8380§13:GivesDOLdiscretiontoorderemployertopostnoticesofviolationsofArt6,19or19A.
Noticesvisibletoemployeesonly:DOLcanorderpostingofanywageandhourviolation,max
postingfor1year.Noticesvisibletopublic:DOLcanonlyorderpostingofwillfulviolations,max
postingfor90days.
17.DOLPowertoOrderAccountingofAssetsonEmployerDefault
CurrentLaw:NYLLArt.6,§196DOLhasnopowertoobtainassetinformationtoassistwith
collectingunpaidwages.
A10163b§5:GivesDOLdiscretiontodemandassetinformation(bankaccounts,realproperty,
etc.)fromemployerwhodefaultsformorethan10daysonobligationtopaytheamountlistedas
dueinfinalOrdertoShowCause.Requiresemployertoautomaticallyupdateaccountingwithin10
daysofanychange.ProvidesDOLauthoritytobringactionincourttocompelcompliancewith
requestforaccounting.
S8380§4IdenticaltoAssemblyversionexcept:allowsDOLdiscretiononhowoftenandinwhat
circumstancestoorderanemployertoupdatetheaccounting(ratherthanautomaticupdates
within10daysofchange)andprovidescourtauthoritytoawardupto$10,000civilpenaltyfor
employerfailuretocomply.
18.EmployerBondsPaidtoDOL
Currentlaw:NYLLAr.6,§196:LawalreadyprovidesDOLauthoritytorequiredefaultingemployer
bondbutDOLmustfirsttakeministerialstepoffilingadministrativeorderw/countyclerkbefore
obtainingbond.
A10163b§5:ProvidesDOLdiscretiontorequireemployertopostbondafterdefaultonOrderto
Comply(notafterdocketingadministrativeorderincourt,asiscurrentlyrequired).
S8380§4IdenticaltoAssemblyversion.
19.IncreasedDamagesafterEmployerDefault
Currentlaw:WTPAAmendsNYLL§§198,218,219,663:Noadditionaldamagesinexistinglawfor
employerdefaults.Costsexpendedcollectingonjudgmentsmayberecoveredonlythrough
separate,subsequentlitigation.
A10163b§§8,13,14,18:Whereemployerdefaultsonpayingjudgmentorpayingonfinal
administrativeorderformorethan90days,afterthejudgment/orderisfinal,theemployermust
pay15%additionaldamages.
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S8380§§7,11,12,16:Senateversionprovidessamesubstantiveprovisionbutspellsoutingreater
detailthemechanismofhowtheadditionaldamageswillbeincluded.
20.NonWaiverofWageandHourRights
CurrentLaw:noexplicitprohibitionofemployee’sabilitytowaiverightsabsentcourtreview.
A10163b§§8,18:ProvidesthatrightsundertheArticlecannotbewaivedorreleasedexcept
pursuanttoasettlementdeemedfairandequitablebyacourtofcompetentjurisdiction.
S8380:Doesnotincludethisprovision.
21.ArbitrationFairnessAct
CurrentLaw:noexplicitprohibitionofsigningpredisputeagreementtoarbitratewageclaims.
A10163b§15:explicitlyprohibitspredisputeagreementstoarbitratewageclaimsexceptas
containedinavalidcollectivebargainingagreement.
S8380:Doesnotincludethisprovision.
22.CriminalPenalties:NONpaymentofwages.
CurrentLaw:NYLLArt.6,§198a:firstoffensemisdemeanorwithfineof$500to$20,000andupto
1yrinprison.Secondoffense:felonywith$500to$20,000fineandupto1yearand1dayinprison.
A10163b§9Increasesexistingcriminalpenaltiesfornonpaymentofwages:Firstoffense:increases
minimummisdemeanorfineto$2,500ortwicetheunderpayment,whicheverisgreater.Leaves
misdemeanorjailtimeunchanged.Secondoffense:changesexistingfelonytoaclassEfelony,
increasingminimumfineto$5,000ortripletheamountofunderpayment,whicheverisgreater.
Felonyjailtimeincreasedtominimum3yearsandmax4years(NYPenalLaw70.70).Addsnew
corporateformstolistofcoveredentitiestoensure,forexample,equaltreatmentofLimited
LiabilityCompanies(newerbusinessform)andCorporations(alreadycovered).
S8380§8Doesnotalterexistingcriminalpenaltiesfornonpaymentofwages.Addsnewcorporate
formstolistofcoveredentitiestoensure,forexample,equaltreatmentofLimitedLiability
Companies(newerbusinessform)andCorporations(alreadycovered).
23.CriminalPenalties:NonpaymentofMinimumWageandOvertime
Currentlaw:NYLLArt.19,§662:NonpaymentofminwageorovertimeunderArticle19isClassB
misdemeanor:max3monthsinprison+max$500fine.Note:criminalpenaltyfornonpaymentof
minimumwageunderArticle19isnotparalleltocriminalpenaltyfornonpaymentofwagesunder
Article6.
A10163b§17:Increasescriminalpenalties:Firstoffense:minimumfineincreasedto$2,500or
twicetheunderpayment,whicheverisgreater;maximumjailtimeincreasedtooneyear.Second
offense:providesnew2ndoffensedefinedasaclassEfelonywith$5,000fineortripletheamountof
underpayment,whicheverisgreater.Newjailtimeminimum3yearsandmax4years(NYPenalLaw
70.70).
S8380§15:Makesthepenaltyfornonpaymentofminwage/OTunderArticle19matchcriminal
penaltiesprovidedundercurrentNYLL§198afornonpaymentofwagesunderArticle6.
24.CriminalPenalties:Retaliation
Currentlaw:
oNYLLArt.7,§215:existingantiretaliationsectiondoesnotincludecriminalpenalties.
oNYLLArt.19,§662:ClassBmisdemeanorforemployerretaliationagainstworkerforcomplaint
ofnonpaymentofminwageorOTunderArticle19.Max3monthsinprison+max$500fine.
oNYLLArt.6:loophole:noexistingcriminalpenaltyforretaliationagainstemployeeforcomplaint
ofnonpaymentofwagesunderArticle6.
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A10163b§12:MovescriminalpenaltyforretaliationfromArt.19(minimumwage/OT)toSection
215,whereillegalretaliationisdefined.Thismoveexpandsthetypesofretaliationcriminally
prohibitedtoincluderetaliationagainstworkerscomplainingaboutnonpaymentofwagesand
exercisinganyotherwageandhourrights.Increasescriminalpenaltiesfromexistinglaw:First
offense:$500to$10,000fineandupto1yearimprisonment.Secondoffense:felony($500to
$20,000fine+upto1yearand1dayinprison).
S8380§10AswithAssemblyversion,criminalpenaltiesforretaliationmovedfromArticle19to
Section215.Penalties:SenateversiondoesnotchangethecriminalpenaltiesleavesasClassB
misdemeanoranddoesnotprovidesecondtimefelonyoffense.
25.CriminalPenalty:RecordKeeping&NoticesViolations
Currentlaw:NYLLArt.6,§198aprovidescriminalpenaltyforfailuretomaintainpayrollrecords.
CurrentlawdoesNOTprovidecriminalpenaltyforfailuretoprovidenoticeofwagerateattimeof
hireunder§195(1).
A10163b§§9,17:Extendsexistingcriminalpenaltiesundersectiontocriminalizefailuretoprovide
employeeswithnoticesofwagerates:Firstoffense:misdemeanor,$500to$5,000fine+1yrin
prison.Secondoffense:felony,$500to$20,000fineand/or1yr+1dayinprison.
S8380:Doesnotexpandcriminalpenaltiestocovernonprovisionofwagenotices.
26.CriminalPenalty:DefacingDOLPostedNoticesofViolations
CurrentLaw:Noexistingprovisionsb/cDOLnoticesatissueareauthorizedundernewprovisionsof
theWTPA.
A10163b§15ProvidesDOLauthorityto“tag”goodsthatareillegallymanufacturedandprovides
misdemeanorforremovingordefacinga“tag”placedbyDOL.
S8380§13ProvidesDOLauthoritytoorderemployertopostnoticesofwillfulviolationsfor90days
forpublicviewing.Misdemeanorforremovingordefacingnotice.Note:DOLisalsoauthorizedto
orderemployertopostanoticeofviolationsforemployeeviewing.Nocriminalpenaltyfor
removingordefacingthatcategoryofnotice.
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Appendix VIII:
WTPA Overview as Signed into Law
The Wage Theft Prevention Act:
Historic Labor Law Reform in New York
State S8380 (Savino) / A11726 (Heastie)
The Wage Theft Prevention Act was drafted by Make
the Road New York’s litigators based on over a dozen
years’ experience fighting wage theft through worker,
consumer, and small business organizing, combined
with litigation, government agency monitoring, and
innovative partnerships with the Department of
Labor and Office of the NYS Attorney General. On
March 9, 2010, Assembly member Carl Heastie of
the Bronx, and Senator Diane Savino of Staten Island
and Brooklyn simultaneously introduced the 26-
page piece of legislation in their respective houses.
Despite its length and technicality, the WTPA made
its way through the state legislature with almost
unprecedented speed. It passed the Senate on June
30, 2010 and the Assembly on November 30, 2010
and was sent to Governor Paterson for a signature on
December 1, 2010. On December 9, 2010, Governor
Paterson signed the WTPA into law.
It took effect April 9, 2011.
The Need
Wage theft has reached epidemic proportions in
New York State. In New York City alone, nearly
$1 billion is stolen from low-wage workers every
year—15% of the workers’ annual incomes. Worst,
wage theft is rampant in some of the state’s fastest
growing industries.
Wage theft harms not just working families, but also
the businesses that pay their employees properly,
and suffer a competitive disadvantage as a result.
Law-abiding employers struggle to stay afloat,
while the competition gains an edge by not paying
minimum wage and overtimeand typically
not paying into the unemployment or workers’
compensation insurance systems.
Shockingly, New York State has lagged behind dozens
of other statesincluding Arizonain punishing
wage thieves and protecting workers from abuse.
But this year, New York State passed comprehensive
reform to stem the tide of wage theft. A broad
coalition of community groups, labor unions, business
leaders, worker advocates, and elected officials came
together to push comprehensive labor law reform
through the Legislature in a mere nine months. With
the passage of the Wage Theft Prevention Act, New
York is poised to become the national leader in the
fight against wage theft.
The Wage Theft Prevention Act:
1) Finally puts a real price tag on wage
theft violations to turn around the
perverse incentives that have been
pressuring businesses to break the law;
2) Protects workers with the courage to
stand up and blow the whistle on wage
theft; and
3) Provides courts and the Department of
Labor new tools to help ensure that
employers found to be violating the
law actually pay the money they owe
their workers.
A REAL PRICE TAG ON
VIOLATIONS: INCREASING THE
INCENTIVES TO COMPLY
The WTPA finally implements “double
damages” for wage theft in New York State
so that wage thieves who are caught have
to pay double the original amount of the
stolen wages. Under current law, employers
found to have stolen wages must pay back
the wages owedplus a mere 25% more as
“liquidated damages” that go to the aggrieved
workers. Damages so low create no incentive
against violationsemployers build in the small
chance of getting caught in to the “cost of
doing business. The WTPA quadruples the
liquidated damages that wage thieves must
paya real price tag to deter violations.
Stopping the clock. Currently, workers who
file claims with the DOL often must wait years
before a final decision, as large case backlogs
slow the progress of investigations. If errors
or lack of investigative resources during the
DOL case result in a settlement for less than
what the worker is actually owed, current law
lets workers go to court to claim the rest. But
by law in NY workers can only claim wages
Make the Road New York (2013)
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going back six years from the time they file a
court caseso workers lose the time (often
years) that they spent waiting during the agency
process. The WTPA “stops the clock” during the
DOL investigation, so that if necessary, workers
will be able to recover the full amount of what
theyre owed.
Spot light on the worst abuses. The public
has long had the right to view local businesses’
health and sanitation violations. But unscrupulous
employers have been able to keep their wage
theft under wraps. The WTPA grants the DOL
the power to order wage thieves to post notices
at their place of business, advising the public
and/or employees of proven wage violations.
These postings deter future violations, and
encourage entire industries and geographic
regions to come in to compliance.
PROTECTING WORKERS WHO
BLOW THE WHISTLE ON ABUSE
The WTPA explicitly prohibits employers
from threatening workers who stand up for
their rights. Smart wage thieves know a well-
timed threat to fire workers is often all thats
needed to silence dissent. Under old law, threats
did not clearly count as illegal retaliation.
The WTPA prohibits everyone from
retaliating against employees who blow
the whistle on violations. Previously, the law
did not protect employees against retaliation
by individuals who don’t meet the technical
definition of an “employer” under the law. Thus,
when the employers accountant, wife, or cousin
retaliated against a worker when he tried to
collect his wages, the courts and the Department
of Labor couldn’t do anything about it.
The WTPA makes clear that workers do
not have to cite to the law—any good faith
complaint of conduct that the employee
reasonably believes is illegal will be
protected against retaliation. Low-wage
workers often don’t know the technicalities
of the labor law. Incredibly, a New York court
recently ruled that workers must cite particular
sections of the law when complaining of
violations to be protected from retaliation.
The WTPA gives the DOL the tools it needs
to prevent and remedy retaliation when it
occurs, including ordering reinstatement
of fired workers, damages, and restoration of
seniority and benefits. Most low-wage workers
go to the Department of Labor for helprather
than filing in court. However, under the old law,
the DOL did not have the same powers that a
court had to remedy retaliation.
The WTPA finally compensates victims
of retaliation with money damages that
will make employers think twice about
trying to make a wage claim go away by
intimidating workers. The WTPA provides that
victims of retaliation will receive up to $10,000
in a new type of liquidated damages. Old law
provided limited damages that were not well-
tailored to compensate victims. For example,
low-wage workers scramble to get a new job
immediately—since a day without work can
mean not meeting the rent that month. For a
worker who finds another low-wage job within a
few days, an award of “lost wages” for their time
out of work would be minor—often less than
$100. $100 does nothing to compensate workers
for a traumatic experience, and does even less
to deter employers from firing one person as an
effective strategy to silence an entire workforce.
SHOW ME THE MONEY: MAKING
SURE WAGE THIEVES PAY WHAT
THEY OWE
Winning unpaid wage cases is the easy part; tracking
down the assets to actually collect what is owed is
not. The worst wage thieves hide assets to evade
having to pay. The WTPA addresses the problem in
several ways.
The WTPA gives the DOL the authority to
collect asset information on employers found
in violationand take recalcitrant employers to
court if they refuse to give it.
Under the WTPA, the DOL will have the power
to order violators to post bonds to cover the
wages found due during the administrative
process when appropriateguaranteeing that
there’s in fact money at the end of the day to pay
workers the wages they’re owed.
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The WTPA provides for an automatic 15%
increase in the total amount of a judgment if
the employer fails to pay within 90 days.
The WTPA allows the DOL to issue orders
for unpaid wages directly in the name of the
worker owed the money, allowing workers to
work to collect the money they’re owed.
CLEAR RULES; CLEAR
CONSEQUENCES
New York Labor Law is complex, with many of the
critical rules that employers must follow buried in the
regulations, rather than directly in the text of the law
itself. The WTPA spells out, in the law itself,
the employer’s obligations to keep records,
give notices to workers of their rights, and
the repercussions to an employer if the rules
aren’t followed.
The WTPA clarifies an employer’s obligations to
keep payroll records and corrects inconsistency
between the statute and regulations as to how
long employers must retain payroll records.
The WTPA cleans up the rules for providing
employees with pre-employment notices of their
wage rates and with periodic paystubs. New
damages, capped at $2,500 per worker, puts
real teeth in these requirements. Employers
now will also be required to provide DOL-
created translations of pre-employment wage
rate notices, ensuring limited English proficient
workers also get real information about their jobs.
Key Supporters of the Wage Theft
Prevention Act Include:
Make the Road New York MFY Legal Services,
Inc. Small Business United Morton Williams
Supermarkets UFCW Local 1500 Retail,
Wholesale & Department Store Union (RWDSU)
The Working Families Party New York Communities
for Change The National Employment Law Project
New York State AFL-CIO The New York City Council
32BJ SEIU New York Hotel & Motel Trades
Council 1199 SEIU New York Jobs with Justice /
Urban Agenda NYCOSH Drum Major Institute for
Public Policy New York Stimulus Alliance NYC Aids
Housing Network / VOCAL New York State Trial
Lawyers Association Urban Justice Center
Make the Road New York (2013)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
92
Appendix IX:
Car Wash Accountability Act FAQ 2014
Q&A: The Car Wash Accountability
Act of 2014
Regulating the NYC Car Wash
Service Industry
Overview: Why the Act? Why now?
The Car Wash Accountability Act would establish,
for the first time, common-sense city oversight
covering an industry with a history of unsafe and
illegal practices and the potential to harm consumers
and our citys environment in serious ways. The
core of the legislation would require car washes to
obtain operating licenses from the City of New York
in order to do business. The city already requires
that businesses in dozens of other industries
including restaurants, towing companies, car garages,
dry cleaners, and even thrift shops—follow this
elementary step. This industry handles hundreds of
thousands of dollars’ worth of consumer property
every day, and a litany of consumer complaints
has come to light. The industry also poses serious
environmental risks impacting New York City
water and safety, relating to water usage, sewage
discharge, and the use of caustic chemicals. Finally,
wage theft is rampant in the industry, resulting in
judgments and potential judgments that the city’s
police powers can help to enforce. The immediate
need for the Act has become apparent as rampant
abuses in the industry come to light and reveal just
how dirty the New York car wash industry is. A litany
of consumer complaints against operators and the
increasing uncertainty about what car washes are
doing with untreated wastewater and potentially
toxic “sludge” reveals a fundamental problem: New
York City has had virtually no oversight over the car
wash industry until now. The Car Wash Accountability
Act finally puts in place basic, common-sense
oversight for the protection of our city.
The Specifics: What would the Act do?
This section presents, in question and answer format,
how the Act addresses the many consumer and
environmental issues that car washes pose. The main
provisions of the bill require that car washes: obtain
licenses from the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA); post surety bonds; provide basic information
about their businesses to the city; and, comply
with basic regulations concerning their wastewater
discharge and public water usage.
1) Why require car washes to
maintain licenses?
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
already requires that 78,000 separate businesses,
across 55 industries, apply for licenses to operate
lawfully within the city. Businesses from sidewalk
cafes to parking garages must obtain licenses through
a process that involves certifying that the business
operators are honest and that they meet minimum
standards for the protection of consumers and the
environment. No blanket licensing law exists. Instead,
the City Council licenses industries one-by-one
over time. Industries already covered by licensing
requirements include laundromats, car garages,
storage warehouses and towing vehicles to name
but a few. Car washes pose comparable or more
serious risks to consumers and the environment. It is
surprising that car washes have not been covered
to date.
2) Who would be required to maintain
the license?
Only bona fide car washes that operate
for profit. The Act does not cover charity car washes.
Nor does it cover businesses for which washing cars
is ancillary to some other service, such as selling or
repairing vehicles.
3) What would the license cost car
wash owners?
The license application would cost $550 every two
years. This amount covers administrative costs for
the DCA.
4) What type of information would the car
wash owner provide when applying?
An applicant would be required to supply the same
information as is required in other industries including
business address and ownership. In addition,
applicants would have to certify compliance with
existing environmental law and supply proof that
they carry the insurance required by law. Further,
they would have to maintain records of consumer
complaints and environmental practices and make
those records available to the DCA upon request.
The WASH Campaign (2014)
Lessons from the Field
93
5) What would the Act do to help
protect our environment, and why is
this necessary?
The Act would require car washes to provide written
proof of their compliance with environmental
regulations to end bad practices with regard to
sludge disposal. “Sludge” is the oil and debris
that becomes trapped through filtration.i Car wash
workers report that many car wash managers, failing
to appreciate the concerns sludge poses, take few if
any precautions with regard to its disposal.
Prior City Council hearings on the industry and this
legislation have included employee testimony that
many car washes fail to handle “sludge” disposal in a
safe manner. Other localities have passed wastewater
regulations that are specific to car washes, thereby
addressing the myriad of issues that car wash
chemicals pose for human health and that residual
oils and debris cause for the flow of the sewer
system. The Act simply requires local car washes to
meet some of the same minimum standards that are
already in place in many other parts of the country.
6) What is the surety bond requirement?
A surety bond is a form of insurance that protects
the consumer and business owner in the event of
damages or unpaid judgments or fines. Surety bonds
are a common, well-established requirement for
industries that routinely handle consumer property.
The Car Wash Accountability Act requires car wash
owners, just like operators of laundromats, dry
cleaners, and car garages, for instance, to obtain
surety bonds to open for business.
7) Why is the surety bond
requirement necessary?
Surety bonds protect consumers, workers, and other
damaged parties by ensuring that legitimate claims
are satisfied. A strong bonding requirement is a
critical component of ensuring that individuals who
secure judgments against a carwash for unpaid or
underpaid wages, or damage to a vehicle, can keep
the carwash owners from wriggling out from under
that judgment.
A recent example illustrates the need: In June 2011,
three former employees filed suit in the EDNY
against Off Broadway for non-payment of wages.
(Mirek Ramirez, et al. v. H.J.S. Car Wash Inc., et
al., CV-11-2664). In June 2013 the court entered
judgment for damages to plaintiff in the amount of
$205,409.34 and $41,740 in attorneys’ fees and
costs, a total judgment of nearly $250,000. The
judgment is to date unpaid and unsatisfied, and the
corporate entity operating the carwash has changed,
leaving workers with virtually no way to collect their
back pay. This particular judgment covered only
three out of between one and three dozen workers
employed during that time periodsome of whom
have now come forward to confirm that they too
were severely underpaid during that time period.
And the judgment covers less than two years of
wage underpayment, though workers are entitled to
6 years by law if the violation has gone on that long.
Attorneys familiar with the industry estimate that
meritorious wage claims at many car washes are
likely to exceed $750,000 or $1,000,000 in value.
The bond amount also takes into account the recent
Attorney General settlement with the John Lage &
Fernando Magalhaes car washes for $2.2 million in
unpaid wages, a mere 5 years after they were forced
to pay $3.4 million in an earlier unpaid wage case.
A strong surety bond requirement is one of the only
ways to actually ensure that aggrieved workers can
access the wages to which they are entitled, thus
helping to finally eradicate wage theft from the car
wash industry business model, allowing law abiding
car washes to thrive at last.
The bond amount also protects consumers. The
WASH Campaign investigated the first of these
concerns by launching a study of online consumer
complaints. Results of the study are alarming. For
instance, it shows the frequency with which car wash
managers deny responsibility for damage to vehicles
and for loss or theft of property. Substantially more
than one-third of the complaints against the 50 New
York City car washes that the Campaign surveyed
pertained to exactly this scenario. In the absence of
consumer protections, this unfortunate reality comes
as no surprise given that car washes know they have
the upper hand. By comparison, aggrieved consumers
of parking garages can get quick reimbursement
for damage to their property, since parking garages
must carry surety bonds, whereas customers of car
washes must rely on the good graces of car wash
operators to remedy the same grievances. Worker
testimony indicates that standard practice to resolve
consumer complaints is that employers take cash
from the workers’ tip pool to make the customer
whole for any damage that the machines may have
inflicted. As oversight and worker courage eliminates
this approach, consumers will also need guaranteed
access to a bond to protect their claims.
i A study of the compounds in car wash wastewater and sludge for the International Carwash Association confirms this. See CHRIS
BROWN, WATER EFFLUENT AND SOLID WASTE CHARACTERISTICS IN PROFESSIONAL CAR WASH INDUSTRY (International
Carwash Association, Inc. 2003) (“The results of this study regarding contaminants in grit indicate that significant levels of some
contaminants are caught in the grit by the oil/water separation tanks in professional car washes”).
The WASH Campaign (2014)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
94
Appendix X: Advocacy Insitute Sample MAPS
(See Budget Timeline Detail below)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
(New Fiscal Year
begins on April 1)
(Sometimes the
budget is not
passed by April 1)
Budget Season
1 Oct - 31 Mar
Legislative Session
1 Jan - 30 Jun
Prep for
Legislative Session
1 Sep - 31 Dec
Agency Budget Prep
1 Jun - 30 Sep
Governor's
State of the
State
Address
(Early January)
Senate & Assembly
Expense & Revenue
Response
Joint Hearings,
Agency Presentations,
and Meetings with
Budget Tables, Members
and Central Staff
(February and March)
Senate and Assembly
pass budget or
resolution
"Three Men in a Room" hammer
out a deal by budget deadline
(April 1)
MarJan Feb
Budget Cycle Phases
June - September: Agency budget preparation
October - December: Division of Budget review
November - January: Governor and 2nd floor decisions
January - March: Legislative action
Executive
budget released
(Mid January)
21- or 30-day
amendments
DOB and Executive
set budget priorities
(End of December)
Budget Timeline Detail
Overview Timeline
State Map 1 - Timelines
Finance and Budget
Legislation and Policy
Legend
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Advocacy Insitute Sample MAPS (continued...)
Executive
109 State Agencies
Democratic administration
Governor
Andrew Cuomo
General Counsel
Alphonso David
Director of
State Operations
Jim Malatras
Deputy
Secretaries
Division of Budget
Mary Beth LaBate
Personal Staff
Agency
Commissioners
Chiefs (6)
Section Heads
Assistant
Counsels (10)
Agencies
State Map 2 - Who's Who
Assistant
Secretaries
First Assistant
Counsel
Senior Chiefs
Cathy Durant &
Dan Shephard
Secretary to the
Governor
William Mulrow
First Deputy
Director
Ron Greenberg
Team Leaders
Examiners
Division of Budget Detail: Budget Chiefs
Senior Chiefs Cathy Durant & Dan Shephard
Public Protection, General Government Susan Knapp
Transportation, Economic Development Mike Novakowski
Mental Hygiene Louis Raffaele
Housing, Human Services Todd Scheuermann
Health Frank Walsh
Education Lisa Timoney
See detail below
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the
Assembly
150 Members
Democrat-controlled
Assembly Speaker
Carl Heastie
Chief of Staff
Jevonni Brooks
Counsel to Speaker
Jim Yates
Ways and Means
Secretary
Blake Washington
Program and
Counsel Secretary
Lou Ann Ciccone
Senior Budget StaffProgram and Counsel
Team Leader
District
Office
Albany
Office
Analysts /
Committee
Counsel
Budget Table
Analysts
Assembly Member
Personal Staff
Committee Staff
Legend
Supervisory relationship
Legislator's Office
Finance and Budget Central Staff
Legal and Policy Central Staff
Personal Staff
Senate
Assembly
Executive
All budget decisions
are negotiated and
ratified by these three:
Three Men in a Room:
Flanagan
Cuomo
Heastie
Senate
63 Members
Republican-controlled
Republican Leader
John Flanagan
Chief of Staff
Ray Bennardo
Secretary to Republican
Finance Committee
Robert Mujica
Counsel
to the Republican
Marjority
Diane Burman
Senior Budget StaffProgram and Counsel
Team Leader
District
Office
Albany
Office
Analysts /
Committee
Counsel
Budget Table
Analysts
Senate Minority Leadership
Minority Leader
Andrea Stewart-
Cousins
Chief of Staff
Secretary to Minority
Finance Committee
Louis Tobias
Counsel to the
Senate Minority
Shontell Smith
IDC Leader
Jeff Klein
Chief of Staff
John Emrick
Counsel
William McCarthy
Counsel to
the IDC
Shelley Andrews
State Senator
Personal Staff
Committee Staff
v15.6 June 2015
Other Elected Officials
Comptroller
Thomas P. DiNapoli
Chief Fiscal Officer of
the State of New York
Attorney General
Eric Schneiderman
Chief Legal Officer of
the State of New York
Assembly
Senate
Governor
Agencies
Agencies
BILL
DRAFT or
IDEA
Senate
Floor
Committee 2*
Sponsor
Introduces Bill
Find
Sponsor(s) in
Assembly and/
or Senate
CALENDAR
Path A: Bill passes one committee and reaches Calendar
Path C: Bill routed through Rules Committee for rush passage at the end of the session
Path B: Bill passes two (or more) committees and reaches Calendar
Agencies
State Map 3 - How a Bill Becomes a Law
IMPLEMENTATION
Agencies
Flow of time
Legislative Committee
Legend
Chamber Floor
Senate
Assembly
Executive
Committee 1
Senate Rules
Committee
BILL
S.##
(Same as)
LBDC
Sponsor
Introduces Bill Assembly
Floor
Committee 2*
CALENDAR
Assembly Rules
Committee
BILL
A.##
(Same as)
Committee 1
Bill passes
Senate
Bill passes
Assembly
In the Assembly, the second committee
can only be Codes or Ways and Means
*
In the Senate, the second committee
can only be Codes or Finance
*
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Find
co-sponsor(s)
Find
co-sponsor(s)
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Mid-Hudson & Capital Members (5)
State Map 4 - Legislative Conferences
Stewart-Cousins
White Members (9)
Black Members (8)
Latino Members (7)
3 bills passed / member
Democratic: 24
Klein
Independent Democratic
Conference: 5
15 bills passed / member
Flanagan
Long Island Members (9)
Republican: 33
33 bills passed / member
Assembly
Democratic: 106 Republican: 44
Heastie Kolb
Assembly Leadership (21)
Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus (43)
[Non-caucus members]
Senate
Sampson
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No Conference: 1
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Women members (5)
White members (5)
Women members (5)
Women members (35)
Women members (5)
White Members (33)
Western New York (5)
New York City Members (3)
Rest of State Members (11)
Felder
Women members (1)
Advocacy Insitute Sample MAPS (continued...)
The Advocacy Institute (June 2015)
Lessons from the Field
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(See Budget Timeline Detail below)
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
(New Fiscal Year
begins on July 1)
Budget Season
1 Jan - 30 Jun
Legislative Session
1 Sep - 30 Jun
Budget Prep
1 Jul - 31 Dec
City Map 1 - Timelines
MarJan Feb
Budget Timeline Detail
Finance and Budget
Legislation and Policy
Legend
Overview Timeline
JunApr May
January
The Mayor
proposes the
city's spending
priorities for the
upcoming year in
the Preliminary
Budget, usually
submitted by
January 16th.
February
Community Boards, Borough Boards, and
Borough Presidents submit their priorities to
the Mayor and City Council. City Council
holds hearings on the Preliminary Budget.
Capital Funding requests to Borough
Presidents due February 26.
March
The City Council and
Borough Presidents
issue their
recommendations
and response to the
Mayor’s Preliminary
Budget.
Capital Funding
requests to the City
Council due March
26.
April
The Mayor submits a
proposed Executive
Budget, usually by April
26th.
May
The City Council
holds hearings
on the Executive
Budget. NYC
Council internal
budget
deliberations
begin.
June
The City Council and
the Mayor negotiate a
final budget. The City
Council adopts the
budget by the end of
June.
July
Fiscal year begins. NYC
Council releases the
Schedule C and Adopted
Capital budget on its website.
Prep for
Legislative Session
1 Jul - 31 Aug
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Apply for
Discretionary
Spending
(January 5 to
February 20)
Advocacy Insitute Sample MAPS (continued...)
The Advocacy Institute (June 2015)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
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Advocacy Insitute Sample MAPS (continued...)
City Map 2 - New York City Government
Supervisory relationship
Legislator's Office
Legend
Finance and Budget Central Staff
Legal and Policy Central Staff
Personal Staff
Funding Sources
NYC City Council
Mayoral Administration
Other Elected Positions
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the
Mayoral Administration
Mayor
Bill de Blasio
Agency
Commissioners
Agencies
Housing & Economic Development
Alicia Glen
Health and Human Services
Lilliam Barrios-Paoli
First Deputy Mayor
Anthony Shoris
Dir. of Comms.
Andrea Hagelgans
Dir. of Intergov. Affairs
Emma Wolfe
Chief of Staff
Thomas G. Snyder
Senior Advisor for
Strategic Planning
Phil Walzak
Deputy Mayors:
Community Affairs
Marco Carrión
FDM Chief of Staff
Dominic Williams
Strategic Policy Initiatives
Richard Buery
Counsel to the Mayor
Maya Wiley
Other Elected Positions
Borough Presidents
Community Boards
Comptroller
Scott M. Stringer
Chief Financial
Officer of the City
Pubic Advocate
Letitia James
Ex Officio to all
Council Committees,
Next in line to Mayor
Chief of Staff
Ibrahim Khan
First Deputy
Comptroller
Alaina Gilligo
v15.6 June 2015
City Council
Legislative Finance
Council Speaker
Melissa Mark-Viverito
Deputy
Chief of
Staff
Ramon
Martinez
Acting
Director
Latonia
McKinney
Senior
Budget Staff
Budget
Analysts
Budget
Negotiation
Team
The BNT is comprised of Chairs of
Finance and Land Use committees
and designated Deputy Leaders of
the Council.
Personal
Staff
Director
Matt Gewolb
Dedicated
Drafting Unit
Many Council Members are also
members of a caucus; Black Latino
and Asian, Jewish, LGBT, Progressive
and Women's Caucuses.
Caucuses
Council bodies comprised of multiple Council Members:
General Counsel
to the NYCC
Kathleen Ahn
Every Council Member is a member
of their Borough Delegation.
Borough
Delegations
Council Member
Land
Use
Director
Raju Mann
Policy &
Innovation
First Deputy
Chief of Staff
Elizabeth De
Leon Bhargava
Economic &
Community Dev
Director
Ede Fox
Infra-
structure
Human
Services
Governmental
Affairs
Policy Analysts & Committee Staff
Director
Michael
Freedman-Schnapp
Deputy
Chief of
Staff
Laura Popa
OVERRIDE ARROW
New York City Council
Mayor
Agencies
Agencies
BILL
DRAFT or
IDEA
"Motion to Discharge"
passed by majority of
council
Committee
Min. 1 public hearing
Path A: Bill passes one committee and reaches Calendar
Path B: Bill routed through "Motion to Discharge" rather than committee.
Very rare
Agencies
City Map 3 - How a Bill Becomes a Law
IMPLEMENTATION
Agencies
Flow of time
Legislative Committee
Legend
Chamber Floor
VETO
Legal Services
request to
Dedicated
Drafting Unit
Find CM as
sponsor
BILL
"Intro.##" Mayoral
Lawsuit
Council Member
Introduces Bill Bill passes
City Council
City Council
overrides
Mayoral Veto
Stated Meetings
Majority vote
City Council
Mayoral Administration
Find
co-sponsor(s)
OVERRIDE
PROCESS
Must go back
through committee or
discharge vote
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Advocacy Insitute Sample MAPS (continued...)
City Map 4 - New York City Council Members
Republicans (3)
Non-BLA caucus members (3)
Bronx (8)
Mark-Viverito, Speaker
Staten Island (3)Brooklyn (16) Queens (14)
Indicted
Manhattan (10)
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Summary View (51)
Democrats (48)
Black, Latino and Asian Caucus members (26)
Non-BLA caucus members (22)
Progressive Caucus members (20)
Women (15)
Out LGBT members (6)
20152014 20172016 2018
Issue Advocacy
Base-building & Leadership Development
Direct Services
Legislative
Session
Year 1
Legislative
Session
Year 2
You are here!
GOTV
Electoral
Organizing
GOTV
Electoral
Organizing
GOTV
State Level Civic Engagement Timeline
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Legislative
Session
Year 2
Electoral
Organizing
Legislative
Session
Year 1
Legislative
Session
Year 2
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Appendix XI: DOES and ORM Budget Hearing
Talking Points
Below is a shared statement of solidarity, strength and strategic framing for the Just Pay
Coalitions testimony in front of DOES and ORM on April 27th. As a Coalition, our goal is
to update the public record on our asks and reinforce the need for oversight on DOES.
Our tone is to be critical of agencies past performance but optimistic to be working with
these agencies under this new administrations. The suggested theme for this year’s
testimony is that want DOES and ORM to be proactive in enforcing labor laws,
transparent and accountable to the public, and responsive to community concerns. We
hope that coalition members with have an intro that mirrors the sample text below and
then choose a few of the recommendations under one or two of the themes to weave
into their testimony.
“Councilmember ________________, thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
My name is __________________ with [your organization] which is also a member of
the Just Pay Coalition. [Your Organization] is a [Organization/Union/Coalition] that [insert
your organization’s mission]. Today I’ll focus my testimony on the Department of
Employment Services, specifically the Office of Wage and Hour.
The Just Pay Coalition, along with several other organizations in DC, has been
successful in passing many important pieces of legislation aimed at ensuring DC
workers invaluable rights and benefits. However, laws left unenforced leave workers
without their rights and fail to level the playing field for small businesses trying to respect
the rights of their workers.
Previously, the Just Pay Coalition had advocated for increased funding in DOES in
order to enable them to be proactive in the enforcement of these new laws. However,
through the budget process we have learned that DOES still has a significant number of
vacancies in key positions. We believe that once DOES is fully staffed under current
funding they will have a significant increase in capacity. We further believes that the fact
that these vacancies have existed for so long and that the public was unable to
independently confirm these vacancies highlights the need for the council to provide
more direct and extensive oversight of DOES in order to hold them accountable. We feel
it necessary to reiterate the council’s, and more specifically this committee’s,
responsibility in providing extensive oversight of DOES.
As a [worker/advocate], I look forward to working closely with DOES under this new
administration because it is important to me that DOES is transparent, accountable to
the public, proactive in enforcing labor laws and responsive to community concerns. “
If applicable: [Your organization] is also a member of the DC Fair Budget Coalition, and
we support the Coalition’s Budget Platform because we believe it offers a
comprehensive approach towards fighting poverty in the District across a range of issue
areas that affect DC’s lowest-income communities.
Just Pay Coalition (2013)
Just Pay Coalition (2013)
Lessons from the Field
101
DOES and ORM Budget Hearing Talking
Points (continued...)
Just Pay Coalition DOES Demands
1. Proactive enforcement of all laws through:
a. Hold community and business forums to educate the public on their rights and
responsibilities
b. Conduct proactive public outreach by auditing whether businesses are in
compliance. When businesses are not in compliance they should be fined and
investors should look into other possible labor standard violation.
c. Full Staffing - Fill all vacancies and increase number of investigators, outreach
staff and administrative law judges to ensure timely adjudication of workers’
cases.
d. Work with enforcement and regulatory agencies like DCRA, OAG and OHR to
create interagency collaboration in labor law enforcement.
2. Transparency with the Community and Advocates:
a. Increased oversight of DOES from the council
i. create an implementation plan in collaboration with advocates and
workers
ii. re-define key measures of success to better reflect the needs of the DC
workers
iii. Create timelines for compliance to community and council demands with
penalties for inaction
b. Regular sharing of data with advocates and the community including:
i. Number of claims resolved by the Office of Wage and Hour
ii. Number of claims referred to Attorney General or administrative law
judges
iii. How much money is recovered, and what percent of the wages claimed
by worker is this?
iv. Number of claims where employer is non-compliant and does not respond
to DOES inquiries
v. Number and amount of fines issued
c. Issue of regulations for Wage Theft Prevention Act and Accrued Sick and Safe
Leave Amendment Act by June 1st 2015.
d. Create necessary documents including frequently asked question (FAQ)
documents to guide employers on how to comply with law by June 1st 2015.
e. Create a worker friendly overview of the OWH claims process including the
appeal process and expected timeline to distribute to workers who are making
claims and inform them of their rights under the law by June 1st 2015
3. Responsive to Community Concerns
a. Treat workers with respect and dignity
b. Have a complaint process for unprofessional interactions with agency staff
c. Ensure that services and materials are easily accessed by workers who speak
languages other than English in accordance with the DC Language Access Act
d. Have regular quarterly meetings with advocates
e. Host public forums to hear from workers directly
f. Conduct in-depth training with all levels of staff at the Office of Wage Hour to
ensure thorough knowledge of all wage and hour laws.
Just Pay Coalition ORM Ask
1. Re-institution the Cost of Living increases for approved benefits
Just Pay Coalition (2013)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
102
Appendix XII: Weisbard 2013 Oversight
Testimony on DOES – As Submitted
ARI WEISBARD, ESQ. ADVOCACY
MANAGER D.C. EMPLOYMENT
JUSTICE CENTER
COMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE AND
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS FY 2013
Performance Oversight Hearing
Department of Employment Services
March 4, 2013
Committee Chair Barry and members of the
Committee, thank you very much for the opportunity
to testify on the performance of the Department of
Employment Services. My name is Ari Weisbard and
I am Advocacy Manager at the D.C. Employment
Justice Center. EJC is a nonprofit organization whose
mission is to secure, protect and promote workplace
justice in the D.C. metropolitan area. We provide free
legal advice to more than 1,200 workers a year and
consistently refer many District workers to DOES’s
Office of Wage-Hour.
First, I want to thank you for your leadership in
passing several pieces of pro-worker legislation
supported by EJC. We deeply appreciated your
support of the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act
of 2008 and, more recently, the Workplace Fraud
Amendment Act of 2012, and the Unemployed
Anti-Discrimination Act of 2011. These laws
protect workers when they get sick, when they are
misclassified by their employers, or when they are
unemployed and looking for work. We look forward
to your continued support for ensuring that workplace
protection laws are funded in this year’s budget and
fully implemented.
The performance of DOES’s Office of Wage-Hour
is a critical issue for EJC. More than 400 workers
have come to EJC with wage complaints in just the
last two years. Some of these workers are paid less
than the minimum wage, some are illegally denied
overtime, some are paid less than what they were
promised, and many lose whole days or weeks of pay
because their employers simply refuse to give them
their paychecks. We consider all of these practices to
be “wage theft,” because losing your wages is just as
damaging as any other form of theft.
According to a 2009 survey of low-wage workers in
three urban areas, low-wage workers lose on average
$51 per week to wage theft, or $2,634 per year. That
amounts to 15% of their annual income. Most of
these workers are supporting at least one child.i
And yet, the District is doing less than ever to combat
wage theft. In 1971, the Office of Wage-Hour had a
budget large enough to support a staff of 25. Today,
the Office has only three investigators. It is simply not
possible with this limited a staff to adequately enforce
DCs minimum wage, unpaid wage, living wage, sick
leave, and other worker protection laws.
But the issue is not merely one of adequate staffing.
One recent national survey gave DC’s wage laws
a grade of F due to the inadequate safeguards we
provide for workers. The survey was titled “Where
Wage Theft is Legal.” While stealing from your own
employees isn’t technically legal here in DC, to be
honest, they’re right. It may as well be. If we want to
make sure that workers get paid what they’re owed,
we need to address wage theft on a structural level.
Why are workers more likely to have their money
stolen by their own employers than having it stolen by
strangers? Why are the hundreds of employees who
come forward and file wage theft complaints each
year just the tip of the iceberg?
Well, most employees suffer in silence because they
fear losing their jobs, especially in this economy. If
the worker complains, the employer can retaliate
with near impunity. So they keep working for weeks,
hoping they can believe their employers promises to
pay them eventually. And when they don’t, they can’t
afford to hire a lawyer and spend months trying to get
their wages back, often without success. For them,
it’s throwing good money after bad.
And what happens when a worker actually does
come forward and file a complaint? After months of
waiting and investigating, the most they ever seem
to get back is the money they were owed in the first
place. No interest. No damages. No penalties. So
wage theft perpetrators know they probably won’t
get caught, and even when they do, they still come
out ahead, with an interest-free loan from their own
employees. And all those other employees who didn’t
come forward? It’s like a special form of unearned
loan forgiveness.
i Tim Judson & Cristina Francisco-McGuire, “Where Theft is Legal: Mapping Wage Theft Laws in the 50 States.” Progressive
States Network. June 2012 (at page 2).
Just Pay Coalition (2013)
Lessons from the Field
103
So it shouldn’t be surprising that so many employers
are careful to keep their employees off the books.
According to DOES, when an employer fails to keep
records, even legally-required records, they’re not
held accountable for any orally promised wages they
owe their employees. Moreover, DOES does not
believe they have the authority to assess liquidated
damages and reports again this year that they have
not assessed any administrative penalties or even
set up the apparatus to hold formal hearings in order
to impose them. Without better procedures and
remedies for employees, wage theft will continue.
Employees will suffer and honest employers won’t be
able to compete on a level playing field.
In conclusion, we urge the Council to strengthen
worker protection laws, to expand workers’ rights
to a fair hearing and reasonable damages, and to
adequately fund enforcement of these laws. Thank
you very much for the opportunity to provide you with
this testimony.
Just Pay Coalition (2013)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
104
Appendix XIII: WTPA Brochure
CASA (2010)
Lessons from the Field
105
WTPA Brochure (continued...)
CASA (2010)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
106
WTPA Brochure (continued...)
CASA (2010)
Lessons from the Field
107
WTPA Brochure (continued...)
CASA (2010)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
108
WTPA Brochure (continued...)
CASA (2010)
Lessons from the Field
109
Appendix XIV: Vision for Meaningful Enforcement
Recommended State Law Provisions for
Preventing Wage Thefti
I. Make Government Agencies Effective
Enforcers of the Law
i. Community input and collaboration
1) Fund worker advocacy organizations
to conduct outreach, educate workers
about their rights, and identify
violations of law.
2) Convene task forces on specific
industries which include worker
advocates.
3) Create an oversight board to
monitor the agency and include
worker advocates.
4) Designate agency staff to act as
liaisons to community groups.
ii. Targeted and affirmative enforcement
1) Identify substantive violation priorities.
2) Identify industries with high violation
rates by consulting with labor
advocates and other labor standards
enforcers. Ensure the agency has
the authority to do affirmative
investigations without waiting for
a complaint.
3) Conduct unannounced sweeps in
priority industries and regions.
4) Grant the agency authority to impose
corrective action beyond the payment
of wages, penalties and interest.
iii. More agency funding
1) Increase the state budget for
investigators.
2) Increase the number of investigators
specifically dedicated to wage theft.
3) Direct fines back to enforcement
agencies (for example, a mandatory
minimum civil penalty or fine that is
not tied to the amount of claim could
both deter employers from stealing
wages and also could be directed to
enforcement efforts.) Note: This could
have some potential drawbacks in
terms of political will to provide
stable funding.
4) Authorize enforcement agencies to
collect investigatory and enforcement
costs from employers found to have
violated the law.
iv. Improve the complaint process
1) Revise intake and screening processes
to ensure incoming claims are properly
categorized and prioritized into high-,
medium- and low-priority levels based
on identified enforcement priorities.
2) Simplify complaint procedures and
explain them clearly on the agency’s
website, including by providing a
downloadable claim form.
3) Refer claims to experienced private
wage and hour attorneys via bar
associations in a timely manner, when
appropriate. This can free up the
enforcement resources of agencies.
v. Tap the full potential of
government enforcement
1) Treat individual worker complaints
as covering the entire workplace so
that other workers who fear coming
forward will benefit from the agency’s
investigation. This will allow the
expenditure of investigatory resources
to benefit a greater number of
employees.
2) Enter into forward-looking monitoring
agreements so that the agency can
inspect and re-investigate the violator
for a number of years after the
violations were found.
3) Authorize the state department of
labor to investigate violations of local
wage and hour ordinances upon
request from local government.
In jurisdictions where the local
minimum wage is higher than the
state minimum wage, workers can
recover the full local wage owed.
II. Raise the Cost to Employers for Violating
the Law
i This outline draws from NELPs publication “Winning Wage Justice: An Advocate’s Guide to State and City Policies to Fight Wage
Theft,” available at http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/WinningWageJustice2011.pdf
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
110
i. Make business licenses and public
contracts contingent on compliance with
employment laws
1) Require employers to disclose
any outstanding wages owed and
judgments or orders of unpaid
wages, and to pay all wages due, as
a condition for issuance or renewal
of business licenses or registrations.
This should be mandatory, not
discretionary, for issuance or renewal.
2) Employers with outstanding judgments
should be ineligible to bid on or be
awarded contracts with state entities.
Repeat violators should be barred from
contracting for several years.
ii. Adequate monetary penalties to
compel compliance
1) Employers must be subject to either
treble damages and interest or a
separate fine payable to workers
who have not been paid on time,
supplementary to the overdue
wages. Only monetary penalties that
substantially outweigh the withheld
wages will deter violations.
2) Penalties should increase for
repeat violators.
III. Protect Workers from Retaliation
i. Anonymous, confidential, or
third-party claims
1) Allow anonymous complaints, or allow
third parties, such as worker centers,
to file complaints.
2) Allow one worker to file claims on
behalf of the rest of the workers
affected by wage theft.
3) Require the state enforcement agency
to keep the identities of complaining
workers confidential as long as
possible during its investigation.
ii. Remove barriers to proving retaliation
1) Establish a rebuttable presumption
of employer retaliation when an
adverse action occurs shortly after the
employee has exercised his or
her rights.
2) Specify that the burden of proof
is satisfied when retaliation was a
motivating factor, unless the employer
can show that it would have taken
the adverse action in the absence of
protected activity.
iii. Retaliation protection should extend to
workers who mistakenly but in good faith
allege violations of law.
IV. Stop Independent Contractor
Misclassification and Hold Subcontracting
Employers Accountable
i. Broadly define the employment relationship
1) A broadly-defined scope of who is an
employee and who is the employer
under wage and hour laws allows
agencies to target employers that
call their employees “independent
contractors,” and to hold more than
one employer (a worksite employer
AND a temp agency, or a janitorial
subcontractor AND the office building
or retail store where the work is
performed, for instance) responsible
for unpaid wages.
ii. In industries where subcontracting
is rampant (e.g., security, janitorial,
agricultural, warehousing), require client
employers to share with labor contractors
all civil legal responsibility for workers
supplied by that labor contractor for the
payment of wages and the failure to obtain
valid workers’ compensation coverage.
iii. Offer an amnesty period to encourage
reclassification to employee status
1) Create a time-limited period during
which employers can convert so-
called “independent contractors
to employees and pay all wages,
benefits, and taxes owed in exchange
for relief from statutory or civil liability.
V. Uphold Undocumented Workers’ Rights
Under State Law
i. The express or implied threat of reporting
a worker or a workers family member to
immigration authorities must be recognized
and punishable as a retaliatory act.
ii. Ensure access for Limited English
Proficient Workers by requiring a range of
affirmative policies for immigrant worker
access to state enforcement agency.
The state law should create an office
specifically tasked with ensuring agency
compliance with immigrant access. To
further ensure compliance, the state law
should include a private right of action to
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
Lessons from the Field
111
sue to enforce individual agency violations
of LEP access programs.
iii. Leverage U Visas: Protect immigrant
workers who bring wage theft claims
1) In pursuing state wage and hour
claims, advocates should urge
state departments of labor and the
attorney general offices to issue
certifications for U visas as part of
their investigation process.
VI. Guarantee that Workers can Collect From
Their Employers
i. Wage liens
1) An ideal wage lien statute would
provide for a lien against the property
of an employer or property owner as
soon as a wage claim is filed.
2) Authorize the state Labor
Commissioner to enforce
nonpayment of wages by issuing a
lien or levy on an employer’s real or
personal property in order to collect
unpaid wages for the employee.
The Labor Commissioner should be
empowered to directly levy bank or
otherwise send out its own officers
to execute collections.
ii. Wage bonds
1) Bonds are most useful for workers
employed in industries that are
typically undercapitalized or heavily
subcontracted such as agriculture,
garment, construction and janitorial
work. They are routine in most states
for public works and construction
projects and are also commonly
imposed on employment agencies. To
be most effective, a bond has to be
large enough to cover wages owed to
workers with potential claims.
2) Require employers with outstanding
judgments for nonpayment of
wages to either settle or post a bond
until satisfaction of the judgment,
and authorizes the State Labor
Commissioner to issue work-stop
orders against employers who
fail to do so. The bond amount
should depend on the size of the
unpaid judgment and apply to both
successors and individuals “acting on
behalf of an employer.
3) Authorize Labor Commissioners to
order interim or temporary relief,
including by requiring a bond to
be posted sufficient to satisfy a
good-faith estimate of wages or
other damages owed, while the
investigation is pending.
iii. Wage pools: ensure (and insure) unpaid
wage payments
1) A wage fund provides
cheated workers the remedies
they have fought for and won but
were unable to collect. A wage fund
is useful for workers who do not
know their employers contact
information or identification, or
whose employer has no assets,
hides its assets, files for bankruptcy,
disappears, or re-incorporates as a
new successor business.
VII. Preserve Access to Courts
i. Ensure that workers have time to bring
wage theft claims
1) Toll the statute of limitations for a
civil suit during any investigation
by the state department of labor or
administrative proceeding.
2) Extend the statute of limitation to
ensure that workers’ valid wage
claims do not expire, help workers
collect all back wages owed, preserve
workers’ rights to pursue a lawsuit,
and give state agencies sufficient time
to investigate claims.
ii. Allow workers to collect attorneys’ fees
when they prevail in wage enforcement
litigation. Employers should not be able to
collect if the worker doesn’t prevail.
iii. Establish expedited class action procedures
for wage and hour claims.
iv. Prohibit the practice of requiring employees
to sign mandatory arbitration agreements
as a condition of employment.
VIII. Expand Substantive Wage &
Hour Standards
i. Extend minimum wage and overtime
protections to excluded groups like
agricultural workers, domestic workers,
and home care workers.
ii. Institute protections for workers paid on a
piece-rate basis by ensuring that piece-rate
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
112
workers are paid the minimum hourly wage
for “nonproductive time” and rest and
recovery periods.
iii. Ensure paid meal and rest breaks. Specify
the intervals at which breaks be provided;
and require that rest breaks be counted as
compensable time. Workers should receive
one hour’s pay for each break they are not
permitted to take.
iv. Daily overtime: Safeguard the eight-hour day
1) Daily overtime laws should require
employers to pay workers at least
one-and-a-half times their regular rate
of pay for hours worked in excess of
8 in a day, and double-time for hours
over 12 in a day.
v. Written notice and wage statements
1) States should require both notice
at the time of hire and wage
statements at each pay period, and
should require employers to provide
both types of disclosures in writing
to workers. Wage statements should
include pay rate (hourly, overtime,
attendance, bonus, and/or piece
rate), allowances, deductions,
hours worked, and basic identifying
information for the employer (name
including DBAs, address, phone).
Violation of this requirement should
incur separate penalties.
2) Employers should be required
to provide bilingual statements if
their workers’ primary language is
not English.
Center for Popular Democracy (2015)
Lessons from the Field
113
Notes
1 Annette Bernhardt et al, “Broken Laws, Unprotected
Workers,” National Employment Law Project, 2009,
http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/
BrokenLawsReport2009.pdf, 2.
2 Wage Theft Costs American Workers as Much as $50
Billion a Year,” Economic Policy Institute, September 11,
2014, http://www.epi.org/press/wage-theft-costs-
american-workers-50-billion/.
3 “New York State Wage Theft Recovery,” New York State
Department of Labor, accessed July 13, 2017, h t tps: //
labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/laborstandards/wage-
theft-recovery/new-york-state-wage-theft-recovery.
shtm.
4 Bernhardt et al, “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers,” 2.
5 Bernhardt et al, “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers,” 6.
6 Wage Theft Costs American Workers,” Economic Policy
Institute.
7 Amy Traub and Andrew Friedman, “Workers Deserve to
be Paid,” Albany Times Union, April 5, 2010, https://www.
nysenate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/diane-j-savino/
workers-deserve-be-paid.
8 A 2012 report by the Progressive States Network found
that workers in 44 states have little to no protection
against wage theft, and the majority have laws that are
grossly inadequate. See: “New Study Exposes Gross
Inadequacies of State Wage Theft Laws Workers and
Allies Push for Better Worker Protections,” Interfaith
Worker Justice, June 11, 2012, http://www.iwj.org/media-
room/press-release-archive/new-study-exposes-gross-
inadequacy-of-state-wage-theft-laws-workers-and-
allies-push-for-better-worker-protections.
9 Eunice Hyunhye Cho, Tia Koonse and Anthony Mischel,
Hollow Victories: The Crisis in Collecting Unpaid Wages
for California Workers,” National Employment Law Project
and the UCLA Labor Center, http://irle.ucla.edu/old/
publications/documents/HollowVictories.pdf.
10 NELP’s policy guide for wage theft advocates, “Winning
Wage Justice: An Advocate’s Guide to State and City
Policies to Fight Wage Theft,” provides extremely useful
analyses of the many innovative policy reforms that
may be pursued to combat wage theft. See: “Winning
Wage Justice: An Advocate’s Guide to State and City
Policies to Fight Wage Theft,” National Employment Law
Project, January 2011, http://www.nelp.org/content/
uploads/2015/03/WinningWageJustice2011.pdf.
11 Winning Wage Justice: An Advocate’s Guide to State and
City Policies to Fight Wage Theft,” National Employment
Law Project.
12 “Chicago City Council Approves Wage Theft Ordinance,”
Interfaith Worker Justice, January 2013, http://www.
iwj.org/worker-center-network/headlines/ant-
wagetheftchicago.
13 Correspondence with Arise Chicago, August 2017.
14 Originally adapted from Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendall, and
Steve Max, Organizing for Social Change, Midwest Academy
Manual for Activists, (California: Seven Locks Press, 2001).
15 Strategic Concepts in Organizing Policy Education:
Ending Structural Barriers to Social & Economic
Opportunities for Poor & Working Communities,” SCOPE,
2008, https://network.progressivetech.org/system/
files/SCOPEpresentationonPA.pdf, 6.
16 For more information about the Wage Theft Prevention
Act, see here: “MRNY’s Landmark Wage Theft Prevention
Act Takes Eect,” Make the Road New York, April 8, 2011,
http://www.maketheroad.org/article.php?ID=1782.
17 Who We Are,” Make the Road New York, Accessed July
14, 2017, http://www.maketheroad.org/whoweare.php.
18 Based on multiple interviews with sta at Make the Road
New York.
19 Rafael Navor (Make the Road New York member) in
discussion with the author, July 2015.
20 Christ Stier, “Wage Nonpayment in Colorado: Workers
lose $750 Million Per Year,” Colorado Fiscal Institute,
2014, http://www.coloradofiscal.org/wp-content/
uploads/2014/03/Wage-Nonpayment-in-Colorado-
Final-1.pdf.
21 “Evidence of Widespread Wage Theft,” Oregon Center
for Public Policy, May 21, 2012, http://www.ocpp.
org/2012/05/21/fs20120521-evidence-widespread-
wage-theft/.
22 Reina Steinzor et al, “Winning Safer Workplaces: A
Manual for State and Local Policy Reform,” The Center
for Progressive Reform, accessed July 2017, h t tp : //
www.progressivereform.org/articles/Winning_Safer_
Workplaces_CPRsm_1404.pdf.
23 Interviews with sta at the DC Employment Justice
Center (EJC).
24 Bernhardt et al, “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers.”
25 David Cooper and Teresa Kroeger, “Employers Steal
Billions From Workers’ Paychecks Each Year,” Economic
Policy Institute, May 2017, http://www.epi.org/files/
pdf/125116.pdf.
26 Stier, “Wage Nonpayment in Colorado.”
27 Research for Organizing,” The Center for Community
Development at the Urban Justice Center, http://www.
researchfororganizing.org/.
28 Tables,” State Voices, accessed June 14, 2017, h t tp: //
www.statevoices.org/tables/.
29 State Sample FOIA Request Letters,” National Freedom
of Information Coalition, accessed June 14, 2017, h t tp : //
www.nfoic.org/state-sample-foia-request-letters.
30 Phillip Mattera, “Dirt Diggers Guide to Strategic Corporate
Research,” September 2014, http://corp-research.org/
dddresearchguide.
31 Violation Tracker,” Good Jobs First, accessed July 14,
2017, http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/violation-tracker.
32 Subsidy Tracker,” Good Jobs first, accessed July 14, 2017,
http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/subsidy-tracker.
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
114
33 The Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch,”
Center for Media and Democracy, accessed July 25, 2017,
http://www.prwatch.org/cmd.
34 Strategic Campaigns,” Materials from George Meany
Center, AFL CIO Local 556.
35 Kim Bobo, Founding Director,” Interfaith Worker Justice,
accessed March 16, 2016, http://www.iwj.org/about/
sta/kim-bobo-founding-director.
36 Healthy Nail Salon Campaign: From the Grassroots Up,”
Adhikaar, accessed March 16, 2016, http://www.adhikaar.
org/nail-salon-campaign/.
37 Sarah Maslin Nir, “The Price of Nice Nails,” The
New York Times, May 7, 2015, http://www.nytimes.
com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-
manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html.
38 “Adhikaar Releases Groundbreaking Survey of Nail Salon
Workers, Highlighting Challenges in Labor, Health, and
Safety to be addressed by the Governors Plan,” Adhikaar,
May 20, 2015, http://www.adhikaar.org/2015/05/20/
nail-salon-report-launch/.
39 Sarah Maslin Nir, “Cuomo Order Emergency Measures to
Protect Workers at Nail Salons,” The New York Times, May
11, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/nyregion/
cuomo-orders-emergency-measures-to-protect-workers-
at-nail-salons.html.
40 Jenny Che, “New York City Mayor Announces
Investigation into Nail Salon Conditions,Hupost
Business, May 15, 2015, http://www.hungtonpost.
com/2015/05/15/de-blasio-nail-salons_n_7292910.html.
41 Marshall Ganz and Emily S. Lin, “Learning to Lead,
a Pedagogy of Practice,” The Handbook for Teaching
Leadership: Knowing, Doing, and Being (Los Angeles: SAGE
Publications, 2012), 353-366.
42 End Wage Theft,” FRESC, Accessed July 14, 2017, h t tp : //
fresc.org/campaigns/rewarding-hard-work/colorado-end-
wage-theft/.
43 Protecting Wages: The EJC Fights Wage Theft in D.C.,”
Employment Justice Center, accessed July 14, 2017, h t tp : //
www.dcejc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/EJC-
Wage-Theft-Facts.pdf.
44 Tobias Salinger, “Queens Restaurant Workers Struggling
with Wage Theft,” The Daily News, February 21, 2014,
http://www.maketheroad.org/article.php?ID=3414.
45 Protecting Wages: The EJC Fights Wage Theft in D.C.,”
Employment Justice Center.
46 What is Wage Theft?” UCLA Labor Center, accessed July
14, 2017, http://www.labor.ucla.edu/wage-theft/.
47 Sheena Wadhawan, Emma Cleveland, and Hannah
Cane (former sta at the Employment Justice Center) in
discussion with the author, July 2015.
48 Aditi Sen, “By a Thousand Cuts,” Center for Popular
Democracy, 2015, https://populardemocracy.org/sites/
default/files/WageTheft%2011162015%20Web.pdf.
49 Phillip Reason (Formerly of Community Labor United)
and Lindsay McCluskey (Greater Boston Labor Council) in
discussion with the author, July 2015; correspondence with
Isabel Gonzalez (Community Labor United), July 2017.
50 Sarah Jimenez and Lean Afridi, “Gaming the System—How
Employers Short-Change Workers and Get Away With
It,” Community Labor United, May 2015, http://massclu.
org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/gaming_the_system-
how_employers_short-change_workers_and_get_away_
with_it.pdf.
51 Jimenez and Afridi, “Gaming the System.”
52 “Stop Wage Theft and Hold Employers Accountable,”
Good Jobs, Strong Communities, Accessed July 19, 2017,
http://stopmasswagetheft.org/.
53 The Times Editorial Board, “Proposed Bill on Fighting Wage
Theft is Strong but Needs More Precision,” The Los Angeles
Times, May 1, 2015, http://www.latimes.com/opinion/
editorials/la-ed-wage-theft-20150501-story.html.
54 New York Times Editorial Board, “Wage Theft Across the
Board,” The New York Times, April 21, 2014, http://www.
nytimes.com/2014/04/22/opinion/wage-theft-across-
the-board.html?_r=0.
55 Media Advisor: Wage Theft Victims Rally in Protest of
Stolen Pay,” Employment Justice Center, March 2, 2014,
http://www.dcejc.org/2014/03/13/media-advisory-
wage-theft-victims-rally-in-protest-of-stolen-pay/.
56 News Report Shows Wage Theft Impacts Workers’
Health,” UCLA Labor Center, August 26, 2014, ht t p : //
www.labor.ucla.edu/press-release/new-report-shows-
wage-theft-impacts-workers-health/.
57 Wage Theft Costs American Workers as Much as $50
Billion a Year,” Economic Policy Institute.
58 “Mayor Walsh Issues Wage Theft Executive Order,” City of
Boston, October 24, 2014, http://www.cityofboston.gov/
news/default.aspx?id=14843.
59 Eric T. Schneiderman, “Honoring Labor Day by Rooting Out
Wage Theft,” Hungton Post, September 3, 2012, h t tp: //
www.hungtonpost.com/eric-t-schneiderman/wage-
theft_b_1851199.html.
60 Letter to the Editor: Wage Theft By Employers Need
Legislative Remedy,The Washington Times, July 10, 2014,
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/10/
letter-to-the-editor-wage-theft-by-employers-needs/.
61 David Leslie, Layton Borkan, and Karen Nettler, “The
Moral Imperative to End Wage Theft: Guest Opinion,” The
Oregonian, March 12, 2013, http://www.oregonlive.com/
opinion/index.ssf/2013/03/the_moral_imperative_to_
end_wa.html.
62 Stop Wage Theft,” Good Jobs, Strong Communities
Coalition, accessed July 25, 2017, h t t p: //
stopmasswagetheft.org/.
63 Los Angeles Coalition Against Wage Theft,”
accessed June 17, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/
stopLAwagetheft.
64 Ibid.
65 The Wage Theft Prevention Act,” New York, June 27,
2010, http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2009/
S8380.
66 The Wage Theft Prevention Act”; GSM Labor Council
Sta, “New York Legislature Passes Historic Wage Theft
Protection Act,” November 30, 2010, http://www.
maketheroad.org/article.php?ID=1535.
67 Int 1017-2015, Establishing Protections for Freelance
Workers,” New York City Council, November 2016,
http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.
Lessons from the Field
115
aspx?ID=2530972&GUID=61F8754B-80AF-493E-895E-
D6D17209776E&Options=ID%7cText%7c&Search.
68 Freelancers Aren’t Free: Mayor Announces First in
Nation Protections for Freelance Workers,” The City of
New York, May 15, 2017, http://www1.nyc.gov/oce-of-
the-mayor/news/307-17/freelancers-aren-t-free-mayor-
first-nation-protections-freelance-workers.
69 “Anti-Wage Theft Ordinance Passes City Council
Unanimously!” Arise Chicago, February 10, 2015, ht t p : //
arisechicago.org/anti-wage-theft-ordinance-passes-
unanimously/.
70 “Chicago City Council Approves Wage Theft Ordinance,”
Worker Center Network, January 2013, http://www.
iwj.org/worker-center-network/headlines/ant-
wagetheftchicago.
71 “Cook County Wage Theft Ordinance,” Illinois, h t t p: //
www.wagehourlitigation.com/files/2015/07/Cook-
County-Wage-Theft-Ordinance.pdf.
72 Kevin Solari, “Why the New Law Combatting Wage Theft
in Chicago’s Cook County is a Big Deal,” In These Times,
February 16, 2015, http://inthesetimes.com/working/
entry/17648/workers_advocates_celebrate_new_
chicago_law_that_could_punish_businesses_wh.
73 Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act of
2014,” Washington, DC, http://lims.dccouncil.us/
Download/31203/B20-0671-SignedAct.pdf.
74 “Important Message Regarding the Wage Theft
Prevention Amendment Act of 2014,” Department of
Employment Services, DC.gov, accessed July 17, 2017,
http://does.dc.gov/service/wage-hour-compliance.
75 Boston Wage Theft Executive Order,” Massachusetts,
http://owd.boston.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/
Wage_Theft_Executive_Order.pdf.
76 “Mayor Walsh Announces Additional Steps to Protect
Workers from Wage Theft,” City of Boston, September
17, 2015, http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.
aspx?id=20331.
77 “Maryland Lien for Unpaid Wages: Employment
Standards Service (ESS),” Maryland Department of Labor,
Licensing, & Regulation, Accessed April 2016, h t tp s : //
www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/wages/essunpaidwageslien.
shtml.
78 Maryland Lien for Unpaid Wages: Employment
Standards Service (ESS),” Maryland Department of Labor,
Licensing, & Regulation, Accessed July 17, 2017, ht tps: //
www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/wages/essunpaidwageslien.
shtml.
79 Senate Bill 358,” California Legislature, 20152016,
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.
xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB358.
80 Presentation by Working Partnerships USA, August 2017.
81 How a Bill Becomes a Law,” New York State Senate,
accessed July 17, 2017, https://www.nysenate.gov/how-
bill-becomes-law-1.
82 Legislative Process,” California State Senate, accessed
July 17, 2017, http://senate.ca.gov/legislativeprocess.
83 Interviews with sta at DCEJC.
84 Ibid.
85 How to Organize a Delegation: A Step-by-Step Guide
to Legislative Visits,” Interfaith Worker Justice, accessed
July 17, 2017, http://www.iwj.org/resources/how-to-
organize-a-delegation.
86 Catherine Ruckelshaus, “Testimony Regarding Maryland
Senate Bill 758 Before the Senate Judicial Proceedings
Committee,” March 13, 2013, http://www.nelp.org/
content/uploads/2015/03/MD_wage_lien_testimony.
pdf.
87 Human Tracking Victims’ Rights Act,” Kentucky
Legislature, 2013, http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/13RS/
HB3.htm.
88 Maryland Lien for Unpaid Wages—Employment
Standards Services (ESS),” Maryland Department
of Labor, Licensing & Regulation, Accessed July 17,
2017, http://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/wages/
essunpaidwageslien.shtml.
89 “Public Justice Center,” accessed July 24, 2017, h t tp : //
www.publicjustice.org/.
90 Interviews with sta from Public Justice Center.
91 See, for example: “Justice for Workers: State Agencies
Can Combat Wage Theft,” National Employment Law
Project, October 2006, http://www.nelp.org/content/
uploads/2015/03/Justice_for_Workers.pdf; “Protecting
New York’s Workers: How the State Department of Labor
Can Improve Wage-and-Hour Enforcement,” Campaign
to End Wage Theft, December 2006, http://www.
nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/NYSDOL-Report.
pdf; “Investigating Wage Theft: A Survey of the States,”
Policy Matters Ohio, November 2010, http://www.
policymattersohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/
InvestigatingWageTheft20101.pdf; Jacob Meyer and
Robert Greenleaf, “Enforcement of State Wage and
Hour Laws: A Survey of State Regulators,” National State
Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School,
April 2011, http://www.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/
files/microsites/career-services/Wage%20and%20
Hour%20Report%20-%20Exec%20summary%20
PDF%281%29.pdf; Jennifer S. Brand, “Adding Labor to
the Docket: The Role of State Attorneys General in the
Enforcement of Labor Laws,” National State Attorneys
General Program at Columbia Law School, February
2007, http://www.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/
microsites/career-services/THE%20ROLE%20OF%20
STATE%20ATTORNEYS%20GENERAL%20IN%20THE.
pdf; Janice Fine and Jennifer Gordon, “Strengthening
Labor Standards Enforcement Through Partnership
with Workers’ Organizations,” Politics and Society 557,
November 18, 2010, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/
abs/10.1177/0032329210381240.
92 “Just Pay: Improving State and Hour Law Enforcement
at the United States Department of Labor,” National
Employment Law Project, 2010, http://www.nelp.org/
content/uploads/2015/03/JustPayReport2010.pdf.
93 See, for example: David Weil, “Improving Workplace
Conditions Through Strategic Enforcement: A Report
to the Wage and Hour Division,” May 2010, ht tps: //
www.dol.gov/whd/resources/strategicEnforcement.
pdf; Thomas P. DiNapoli, “Wage Theft Investigations:
Department of Labor,” Report 2013-S-38, New York State
Oce of the State Comptroller, June 2014, http://www.
osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093014/13s38.pdf.
A Practical Guide to Combatting Wage Theft
116
94 Cho, Koonse, and Mischel, “Hollow Victories,” 2.
95 Ibid.
96 “Labor Code Section 2698-2699.5,” State of California
Department of Industrial Relations, https://leginfo.
legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?divisio
n=2.&part=13.&lawCode=LAB.
97 Ibid.
98 Kilby v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., 63 Cal 4th 1 (Cal. 2016).
99 For more information about the Wage Justice Center, see:
Wage Justice,” Wage Justice Center, accessed July 25,
2017, http://wagejustice.org/.
100 Interview with Elizabeth Wagoner of the New Mexico
Center on Law and Poverty, June 18, 2017.
101 Unless otherwise indicated, all content is adapted from:
Alvar Ayala, “Amending the Illinois Wage Payment and
Collection Act: An Organizing Victory Against Wage
Theft,” Clearninghouse Community, http://povertylaw.
org/clearinghouse/stories/ayala.
102 “(820 ICLS 115/) Illinois Wage Payment and Collections
Act,” Illinois General Assembly, http://www.ilga.gov/
legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2402&ChapterID=68.
103 Eective Wage Theft Enforcement,” Public Welfare
Enforcement, March 9, 2015, http://www.publicwelfare.
org/eective-wage-theft-enforcement/.
104 Alvar Ayala, “Amending the Illinois Wage Payment and
Collection Act: An Organizing Victory Against Wage
Theft,” Clearninghouse Community, http://povertylaw.
org/clearinghouse/stories/ayala.
Lessons from the Field
117

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