Miami-Dade County Commissioners Pass Historic Wage Theft Ordinance

by James Parks, Feb 19, 2010

Miami workers told a press conference in December about wage theft in the county.

With more than 100 supporters in the audience, the Miami-Dade County (Fla.) Board of County Commissioners yesterday approved the first countywide wage theft ordinance in the country. The law, which passed on a 10-0 vote, will help ensure that workers who are unpaid or underpaid for their work have a way to make their voices heard and recover their hard-earned wages.

Specifically, the new law prohibits wage theft and gives the county legal authority to intervene and help recover back pay for workers who were cheated out of their fair pay.

After the vote, Fred Frost, president of the South Florida AFL-CIO, said:

The ordinance will make a huge impact in people’s lives, putting food on the table and roofs over their heads. This shows coalitions of labor, community and the religious groups will work. This is all about dignity and will be good for workers, taxpayers and employers who do the right thing.         

For about a year, members of the South Florida Wage Theft Task Force—a coalition of union, immigrant, faith, women’s and legal services organizations—worked with County Commissioner Natacha Seijas to craft and introduce the ordinance.

The coalition also used its combined political strength to lobby for passage of the ordinance, even gaining the support of The Miami Herald. In a Feb. 17 editorial, the paper said:

Recovering back wages owed workers will put more money in the local economy, send a message to crooked employers and create a more level playing field for honest employers.

“This is momentous,” said Jeanette Smith, executive director of  South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice.

The passing of this legislation…hopefully, will encourage groups all over the country to establish similar mechanisms for workers in their communities.

The Miami-Dade vote reflects a growing awareness at the federal and local levels that wage theft is a national epidemic, which robs millions of workers of billions of dollars they’ve worked for but never seen.

 San Francisco already has an ordinance similar to Miami-Dade’s, but it only covers the city. Los Angeles and New Orleans also are considering wage theft legislation.

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has said her department is “committed to enforcing all employment laws,” particularly those related to the payment of minimum wage and overtime. She has increased staffing levels at the Wage and Hour Division, putting more investigators into the field.

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