4 ms·

The article says $933 million.

jakelazaroff 6y ago
That is the amount recovered: > By contrast, the total amount recovered for the victims of wage theft who retained private lawyers or complained to federal or state agencies was at least $933 million in 2012. This is almost three times greater than all the money stolen in robberies that year. Further, the nearly $1 billion successfully reclaimed by workers is only the tip of the wage-theft iceberg, since most victims never sue and never complain to the government.
dredmorbius 6y ago
That's the low estimate, based on recovered losses: But we do know that the total amount of money recovered for the victims of wage theft who retained private lawyers or complained to federal or state agencies was at least $933 million—almost three times greater than all the money stolen in robberies that year. https://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-workers-hundreds/ https://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-... High is $50 billion. 2019 workforce was 164 million. -> $305/worker. https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/civilian-labor-force-summary.htm https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/civilian-labor-force-summary....
- SamReidHughes 6y ago
  That’s what I said in my comment. 50 billion is a made up number. The fact is, this isn’t really theft. It’s a change in wages that has occurred after you switched jobs, only instead of saying “actually we’re going to pay you $X, now that you’ve started,” they sneak in lower wages through other means. That’s not a good thing, but it’s hardball negotiation, not theft.
  - mlyle 6y ago
    > That’s not a good thing, but it’s hardball negotiation, not theft. Nah, paying someone under the negotiated rate by lying about how many hours they worked is certainly a form of theft. Failing to give statutory-required pay is also a form of theft.
  - dredmorbius 6y ago
    No, $50 billion is not 'made up", it is extrapolated, based on direct assessments. Much the same as any other sampling acomplishes. I'd looked up earlier today: the three metro areas account for nearly 1/5th all US economic activity. NYC, LA, and Chicago metro areas represent 17% of US GDP. That's a sizable chunk. Methodology questions or quanitative comparisons are reasonable objections. Bald acusations of fabrication are going to require some substantial foundation least they be dismissed for their own claim: that they're made up.
  - triceratops 6y ago
    Fine line between "hardball negotiation" and "fraud"
    - SamReidHughes 6y ago
      Oh it's not a fine line. It is on the fraud side of things, to bring on an employee, get them to quit their old job, and then switch out the deal. It's not "good." But if everybody does this, let's say by 5% of wages, then it just becomes a pre-calculated factor taken into account when negotiating for jobs.
      - triceratops 6y ago
        And society becomes lower-trust, putting the nation on a path to destruction. Sad that it's taken so lightly.
- mlyle 6y ago
  > That's the low estimate, based on recovered losses: Welll... it's still over the lowest estimate possible, because it's the amount of damages paid and damages are often trebled.

That is the amount recovered: > By contrast, the total amount recovered for the victims of wage theft who retained private lawyers or complained to federal or state agencies was at least $933 million in 2012. This is almost three times greater than all the money stolen in robberies that year. Further, the nearly $1 billion successfully reclaimed by workers is only the tip of the wage-theft iceberg, since most victims never sue and never complain to the government.

dredmorbius 6y ago

That's the low estimate, based on recovered losses: But we do know that the total amount of money recovered for the victims of wage theft who retained private lawyers or complained to federal or state agencies was at least $933 million—almost three times greater than all the money stolen in robberies that year. https://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-workers-hundreds/ https://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-... High is $50 billion. 2019 workforce was 164 million. -> $305/worker. https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/civilian-labor-force-summary.htm https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/civilian-labor-force-summary....

SamReidHughes 6y ago
That’s what I said in my comment. 50 billion is a made up number. The fact is, this isn’t really theft. It’s a change in wages that has occurred after you switched jobs, only instead of saying “actually we’re going to pay you $X, now that you’ve started,” they sneak in lower wages through other means. That’s not a good thing, but it’s hardball negotiation, not theft.
- mlyle 6y ago
  > That’s not a good thing, but it’s hardball negotiation, not theft. Nah, paying someone under the negotiated rate by lying about how many hours they worked is certainly a form of theft. Failing to give statutory-required pay is also a form of theft.
- dredmorbius 6y ago
  No, $50 billion is not 'made up", it is extrapolated, based on direct assessments. Much the same as any other sampling acomplishes. I'd looked up earlier today: the three metro areas account for nearly 1/5th all US economic activity. NYC, LA, and Chicago metro areas represent 17% of US GDP. That's a sizable chunk. Methodology questions or quanitative comparisons are reasonable objections. Bald acusations of fabrication are going to require some substantial foundation least they be dismissed for their own claim: that they're made up.
- triceratops 6y ago
  Fine line between "hardball negotiation" and "fraud"
  - SamReidHughes 6y ago
    Oh it's not a fine line. It is on the fraud side of things, to bring on an employee, get them to quit their old job, and then switch out the deal. It's not "good." But if everybody does this, let's say by 5% of wages, then it just becomes a pre-calculated factor taken into account when negotiating for jobs.
    - triceratops 6y ago
      And society becomes lower-trust, putting the nation on a path to destruction. Sad that it's taken so lightly.
mlyle 6y ago
> That's the low estimate, based on recovered losses: Welll... it's still over the lowest estimate possible, because it's the amount of damages paid and damages are often trebled.