Wage Theft in South Florida

Local organizing efforts against wage theft are being stepped up in different parts of the country. The latest campaign to go into high gear is in South Florida.

A new report shows that wage theft in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties occurs not only in low-wage industries but also in professional and higher salary jobs, including those in the legal profession, at architecture and accounting firms, public and private schools and in medical fields.

The report, by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy for the Florida Wage Theft Task Force, analyzed documented wage violations from two community-based organizations in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties and the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. . . .

The report found that from August 2006 to August 2010, there were 3,697 wage violations reported in the two counties, and those violations were worth about $3.6 million in unpaid wages.

You can read a full copy of the report here. The report also includes a number of stories of wage theft in South Florida that is quite disturbing.

The good news? Miami-Dade County passed an ordinance recently designed to stop wage theft.