A recent case in Southern California shows how workers are affected by the unfair and cruel consequences of wage theft. The 58 employees of Joined Inc. are still waiting on their paychecks, and some have been vocal describing how their lives are affected. In an interview with The OC Register, employees of Joined Inc. described how they have been hurt by wage theft.
Joined Inc. provides marketing and recruiting services for Christian colleges and universities. One of the employees interviewed by The OC Register described the wage theft as ‘life-destroying’. The employee, who used to make $70,000 a year at Joined Inc., claimed she was forced to sell shoes and clean houses to make ends meet. She is still owed an astonishing $25,000!
Another employee was unable to afford her stage 4 cancer treatments. Her coworkers felt compelled to set up a GoFundMe account to pay for mounting medical bills.
These examples show what can happen to the victims of wage theft. It does not matter whether employees are white collar or blue collar workers, the consequences of being denied pay are often severe.
What Options Are Available for California Victims of Wage Theft?
California workers who are owed money by employers may have legal options. Workers are protected by the Wage Theft Protection Act and can file claims for unpaid wages. In addition, California has strengthened its wage theft laws in the last year, and now individuals (and not only corporate entities) can be held accountable for failing to pay workers.
After workers collect evidence of wage theft, hiring a labor law attorney can make it more likely for claims to succeed.
The Los Angeles labor law attorneys at Kesluk, Silverstein, Jacob & Morrison, P.C. can help workers fight to receive unpaid wages.