Magaziner Reintroduces Bill to Crack Down on Wage Theft

WARWICK, RI — Today, U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner held a press conference to announce his bill, the Don’t Stand for Taking Employed American’s Livings (Don’t STEAL) Act, that would make wage theft a felony nationwide. Rep. Magaziner was joined by labor leaders who described the human toll of wage theft in Rhode Island.

“Every day, working people across the country are cheated out of the wages they’ve earned. It’s outrageous that someone can be jailed for stealing a television, but not for stealing money from a worker’s pocket,” said Magaziner. “I am proud to again introduce my Don’t STEAL Act to make sure every American who puts in a hard day’s work receives the fair pay they deserve.”

"Wage theft happens across many industries, and it takes many forms. Employers refusing to pay promised wages, failing to pay for all hours worked, or not paying overtime premiums deprives working people of billions of dollars annually. It also leaves hundreds of thousands of affected workers and their families struggling to make ends meet," said Karen Hazard, Secretary-Treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO. "Here in Rhode Island, we know what that means in real life. It means a parent not being able to put food on the table, a family struggling to keep up with rent, and hardworking people being robbed of the dignity of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work." 

“Wage theft should be treated like any other crime of theft. It not only hurts those not being paid, but their families as well as law abiding businesses and their workers who compete with the unscrupulous companies that violate the law. This is particularly prevalent in construction industry where an unscrupulous contractor can shave 20-30% of their bid by not paying the legally required wages, benefits, and workers compensation requirements under the law,” said Mancini, Executive Director, Build RI.

“If any of us were to walk into a store and take $1,000 Dollars’ worth of merchandise, we would be thrown in jail and charged with a felony no questions asked. But, if an employer steals $1,000 dollars from the paychecks of workers, they are given a slap on the wrist and will do the same thing again given the opportunity.  At the end of the day, a criminal is a criminal, I don’t see the difference,” said Tim Melia, President, UFCW Local 328.

While most employers treat their workers fairly, a small number of bad actors shortchange employees by paying less than promised, denying overtime, or stealing tips. Wage theft disproportionately affects low-wage workers and reduces tax revenue.

Yet under current federal law, wage theft violations often result in little more than a slap on the wrist, failing to deter bad actors from cheating their workers.

The Don’t STEAL Act strengthens penalties for wage theft, bringing them in line with other forms of criminal theft under federal law.

• Under this legislation, employers who willfully fail to pay wages, deny overtime, or steal tips will face misdemeanor or felony charges depending on the severity of the violation. Currently, wage theft is treated at most as a misdemeanor.
• The Don’t STEAL Act brings penalties for wage theft in line with other common forms of theft under federal law. Today, employers who commit willful wage theft can be fined no more than $10,000. This bill eliminates that cap and requires fines to be proportional to the amount of wages stolen.

This legislation is endorsed by: AFL-CIO; Center for American Progress; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT); International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC); International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT); Laborers International Union of North American (LiUNA); North America’s Building Trades Union (NABTU); Public Citizen; Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation Workers International Association (SMART); United Association Union of Plumbers, Fitters, Welders, and Service Techs (UA); United Auto Workers (UAW); United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

Rhode Island endorsements include: International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) - Dist. Council 11, Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 271, Rhode Island AFL-CIO, United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitting, Local 51, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Carpenters Local Union 330, International Association of Bridge Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers Local 37, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 251, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 99, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Build RI, United Nurses & Allied Professionals, UAW Region 9A, United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 328.