Check Out Online Resource Center for Wage Theft

by James Parks, Oct 31, 2009

Wage theft has become a national epidemic. A recent study found that low-wage workers in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles are routinely denied proper overtime pay and often are paid less than minimum wage.

Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) is highlighting their stories at its new Wage Theft Online Resource Center, which also includes a list of resources and information about the wage theft crisis. Click here to visit the Wage Theft Online Resource Center.

The online center offers tools for workers seeking to collect wages that are legally due to them, such as contacts to worker centers, lawyers and unions and links to such sites as Can My Boss Do That? and National Employment Law Project.

While many of the victims of wage theft are immigrant workers, Kim Bobo, the author of Wage Theft in America, says the largest sums of money are missing from the paychecks of native-born, middle-income workers who are not paid what is due to them for working overtime.

On average, a low-wage worker lost more than $2,600 in annual income due to the violations, 15 percent of a worker’s yearly earnings. The illegal underpayment or non-payment of wages affects millions of workers each year, forcing many to choose between paying their rent and feeding their families.

Join IWJ and thousands of supporters on Nov. 19 for a National Day of Action to Stop Wage Theft. Across the nation, faith communities and activists will mobilize to host events to educate the public about wage theft, organize delegations of faith leaders to meet with state and federal legislators or hold rallies and prayer vigils for victims of wage theft.

For more information on the National Day of Action, contact Cara Gold (cgold@iwj.org) at 1-773-728-8400, ext. 34.

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