When you’re looking for a job in Los Angeles, it’s easy to be exploited or taken advantage of if you don’t know your rights.
In fact, a recent article in the Los Angeles Times “Harsher penalties suggested for employers who shortchange workers in California” suggests that there are thousands of workers in the state of California that are working for less than the state mandated $8.00 per hour. The problem is that many of them feel stuck because employers know that in this economy there are others willing to take their place.
Employer actions amount to theft
According to the Los Angeles Times article, “A UCLA study, released this year as part of a national project, found that wage theft costs Los Angeles County workers $26 million a week. The survey found that workers who experienced some type of wage theft lost an average of about $40 from typical weekly earnings of $318.”
This same survey showed that approximately three-fourths of 160,000 people who worked over 40 hours a week received no overtime pay. Plus nearly 30% of the county's low-earning workers were paid less than the minimum wage.
However, besides taking from their employees by illegally underpaying workers, these employers are robbing the state as well by not paying their full share of payroll taxes which fund unemployment insurance and disability programs.
California is doing what it can to stop this illegal behavior, but it doesn’t have enough inspectors. In fact, last year the state cited 216 employers for violating minimum wage and overtime pay laws. That’s a decline of about 50 from the previous year, likey due to an insufficient number of…
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