Wage theft costs California workers billions of dollars every year. In Los Angeles County alone, workers lose $26.2 million to wage theft each week! How are businesses stealing from California workers? Employers may neglect to pay workers overtime, misclassify them as independent contractors or pay less than minimum wage. Fortunately, innovative organizations in our state are working together to help workers use an app to report and recover stolen wages.
A group of workers’ rights and datamining organizations are collaborating with the Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition to create a wage-theft fighting smartphone app. These organizations include The Workers Lab and SeeClickFix.
If successful, the WorkerReport app would make it easier for workers to report wage theft and safety violations directly to local agencies. WorkerReport uses GPS to mark the date, time and location of when workers arrive at and leave work. It can send these details to workers advocates who could then help determine if violations have occurred. The app also provides users with a listing of labor organizations (the Department of Labor, or OSHA are examples) and their rights.
Despite being created for low-income workers, this app is in reach for more than 50 percent of people earning less than $30,000 annually. That is because more than 50 percent of people in this income bracket own smartphones.
How Can Evidence Help Workers Recover Stolen Wages?
Evidence is an extremely important factor in labor disputes, whether the issue is discrimination, harassment or wage theft. Keeping a detailed log of events, correspondence and pay stubs can help your attorney show labor violations have occurred. Apps are only one of many ways to collect evidence.
The Los Angeles employment law attorneys at Kesluk, Silverstein, Jacob & Morrison, P.C. are dedicated to helping workers fight labor violations.