Raise the Minimum Wage Enforcement Strategies and Fighting Back Against Preemption September 27, 2016 Laura Huizar Staff Attorney lhuizar@nelp.org
The Problem of Wage Theft See National Employment Law Project et al., Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in America’s Cities (2009), available at http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/BrokenLawsReport2009.pdf. Graph by Annette Bernhardt.
Minimum Wage Violations (2009 Study) The Problem of Wage Theft Minimum Wage Violations (2009 Study) See National Employment Law Project et al., Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in America’s Cities (2009), available at http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/BrokenLawsReport2009.pdf. Graph by Annette Bernhardt.
Minimum Wage Violations (2009 Study) The Problem of Wage Theft Minimum Wage Violations (2009 Study) See National Employment Law Project et al., Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in America’s Cities (2009), available at http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/BrokenLawsReport2009.pdf. Graph by Annette Bernhardt.
The Problem of Wage Theft In 2012, the Economic Policy Institute estimated that workers recovered nearly $1 billion for wage theft violations across the country. U.S. Dept. of Labor: $280 million State departments of labor in 44 states: $172 million State attorneys general in 45 states: $14 million Private attorneys: $467 million in class actions. Economic Policy Institute, An Epidemic of Wage Theft is Costing Workers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars a Year (Sept. 2014), available at http://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-workers-hundreds/.
Who Enforces Minimum Wage Laws? U.S. Department of Labor State Departments of Labor State Attorney Generals and District Attorneys Private Attorneys Local Government Agencies Worker Centers and Advocates
Top 5 Enforcement Tools #1. Anti-Retaliation Protection #2. Dedicated Resources for Investigation and Enforcement #3. Community Partnerships #4. Strong Remedies and Penalties #5. Private Right of Action
#1. Anti-Retaliation Protection Top 5 Enforcement Tools #1. Anti-Retaliation Protection
#2. Dedicated Resources for Investigation and Enforcement Top 5 Enforcement Tools #2. Dedicated Resources for Investigation and Enforcement
#3. Community Partnerships Top 5 Enforcement Tools #3. Community Partnerships
#4. Strong Remedies and Penalties Top 5 Enforcement Tools #4. Strong Remedies and Penalties
#5. Private Right of Action Top 5 Enforcement Tools #5. Private Right of Action
Preemption: What Is It? Federal State Local
Preemption: Landscape A Few States Expressly Allow Local Govt’s to Enact Local Min. Wage Laws Federal State Local About ½ of U.S. States Expressly Prohibit Local Govt’s to Enact Local Min. Wage Laws The Rest of U.S. States Do Not Say Whether They Allow Local Govt’s to Enact Local Min. Wage Laws
Resources National Employment Law Project: Laura Huizar, Staff Attorney, lhuizar@nelp.org Raise the Minimum Wage Website: http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/
National Employment Law Project 2040 S Street NW, Lower Level Washington, DC 20009 202-640-6521 tel | lhuizar@nelp.org www.nelp.org ©2016 National Employment Law Project. This presentation is covered by the Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives” license fee.