3 ms·

> Couple weeks later they send me a check for 20 grand out of the blue Glad this ended up working out in your favor. Your story makes me wonder how often such

> Couple weeks later they send me a check for 20 grand out of the blue Glad this ended up working out in your favor. Your story makes me wonder how often such a practice doesn't end with the employer forking up the 20 grand they stole. I guess I've heard it said that wage theft is the most common form of theft but this is still rather frustrating to think about. Does this sort of practice come with some other punishment or does the board just tell the employer to pay what's owed?

willcipriano 4y ago
Lots of people don't know about labor boards so I think they get away with it most of the time. In ten years across seven restaurants in the restaurant industry that was the only time I was paid time and a half for overtime, lots of places do cash overtime instead. Even the chains have stolen labor from me, did a month at Applebee's and the manager would "save me time" by clocking me out 15 - 20 minutes early at the end of the night (it took seconds to clock out). Illegal immigrants in particular know that they are unlikely to get their last pay in the restaurant industry, they aren't likely to sue or contact the authorities, they also get screwed on workers comp claims when they get injured. We talk a lot about unfairness for waitstaff but that's paradise compared to the back of the house. It's absolutely commonplace and likely happening at any restaurant you go to. In PA they have to pay double whatever is collected, so they wrote a similar check to the labor board, that's how they are funded and I think it's revenue positive.
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
  > In PA they have to pay double whatever is collected That's exactly the thing I'd hope to see. It's unfortunate that it's such a process, considering how easy it is to simply not know.
- raincom 4y ago
  Even many body shops run with h1-bs, and by Asians try to not pay the last pay check. ESP if it is corp to corp, these staffing companies try to not pay the last invoice. I think in California, even illegals are eligible for workers compensation.
bagels 4y ago
The most common outcome is that the employee ends up with no remedy because most people don't know anything about labor laws or about the fact that most states have a department of labor or equivalent that can solve the problem for you.
sangnoir 4y ago
> Your story makes me wonder how often such a practice doesn't end with the employer forking up the 20 grand they stole. As gp showed, most people are not fully aware of their labor rights, and when they are, may not know the remedies available to them. Wage theft is endemic because of information asymmetry.

willcipriano 4y ago

Lots of people don't know about labor boards so I think they get away with it most of the time. In ten years across seven restaurants in the restaurant industry that was the only time I was paid time and a half for overtime, lots of places do cash overtime instead. Even the chains have stolen labor from me, did a month at Applebee's and the manager would "save me time" by clocking me out 15 - 20 minutes early at the end of the night (it took seconds to clock out). Illegal immigrants in particular know that they are unlikely to get their last pay in the restaurant industry, they aren't likely to sue or contact the authorities, they also get screwed on workers comp claims when they get injured. We talk a lot about unfairness for waitstaff but that's paradise compared to the back of the house. It's absolutely commonplace and likely happening at any restaurant you go to. In PA they have to pay double whatever is collected, so they wrote a similar check to the labor board, that's how they are funded and I think it's revenue positive.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
> In PA they have to pay double whatever is collected That's exactly the thing I'd hope to see. It's unfortunate that it's such a process, considering how easy it is to simply not know.
raincom 4y ago
Even many body shops run with h1-bs, and by Asians try to not pay the last pay check. ESP if it is corp to corp, these staffing companies try to not pay the last invoice. I think in California, even illegals are eligible for workers compensation.

bagels 4y ago

The most common outcome is that the employee ends up with no remedy because most people don't know anything about labor laws or about the fact that most states have a department of labor or equivalent that can solve the problem for you.

sangnoir 4y ago

> Your story makes me wonder how often such a practice doesn't end with the employer forking up the 20 grand they stole. As gp showed, most people are not fully aware of their labor rights, and when they are, may not know the remedies available to them. Wage theft is endemic because of information asymmetry.