La Unión de Trabajadores and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Celebrate New Procedure to Resolve Wage Theft Complaints!

Day laborers and other low income workers across the construction, cleaning, and restaurant industries are disproportionately the victims of wage theft. While there are agencies dedicated to this issue, workers in the informal sector are often unable to gather the necessary contact information that is required to begin a claim process.rnrnToday, La Unión de Trabajadores in a new partnership with the MPD have devised a solution to this perennial Catch-22 by developing a new procedure allowing MPD officers to investigate and document wage theft cases.rnrnText of the Procedure after the jump:rnrnrn“Procedure for MPD Officers to Address Wage and Hour Concerns”rnrn1. The Department of Employment Services (DOES) has primary jurisdiction for administering the District’s wage and hour law. It is the policy of DOES to maintain open lines of communication with all District agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).rnrn2. In order to assist DOES in their current procedure of investigating wage and hour claims, MPD has agreed to train officers to document all reports of wage and hour violations in their notebooks capturing as much detail as possible surrounding the dispute (names, phone numbers, location, observations etc.). MPD officers will also be required to provide parties with a copy of their business card and their badge number.rnrn3. MPD officers that respond to wage and hour concerns should pay particular attention to observations surrounding the amount of work that appears or does not appear to have been completed.rnrn4. MPD will provide DOES with vehicle registration information on vehicle tag numbers when DOES is seeking the information relative to a wage and hour investigation.  rnrn5. MPD officers will make themselves available by E-mail to DOES investigators who are administrating wage and hour investigations.rnrn6. If a claimant has had previous interactions with an MPD officer in regards to his wage and hour concern, the DOES investigator will follow current procedure and communicate with this officer.  The DOES investigator will include relevant information from this communication in the administrative proceedings.rnrnrnContacts: rnArturo Griffiths, Arturo@dcjwj.org, 202-445-0411 rnRachel Sier, Rachel@dcjwj.org, 202-427-2172rnrn—–rnrnPRESS RELEASErnIMMEDIATE RELEASE – UPDATErnJune 14, 2012rnrnDC WORKERS UNION, DC JOBS WITH JUSTICE, AND METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT CELEBRATE NEW PROCEDURE TO RESOLVE WAGE THEFT COMPLAINTSrn rnCONTACT: Arturo GriffithsrnDC Jobs with JusticernPHONE: 202-445-0411rnrnCONTACT: Rachel SierrnDC Jobs with JusticernPHONE: 202-427-2172rnrnDistrict of Columbia day laborers (Unión de Trabajadores de DC/DC Workers Union) and DC Jobs with Justice announce the development of a new procedure to involve the Metropolitan Police Department in investigating and documenting wage theft cases. On Thursday, June 14th the members of the Unión de Trabajadores de DC/DC Workers Union and DC Jobs with Justice will celebrate this new accord with representatives from the MPD and DOES. The celebration will be held at 7 PM at the Foundry Church located at 1500 P St. NW, Washington, DCrnrnFor the past several years DC Jobs with Justice has been working with immigrant day laborers to address the rampant problem of wage theft that affects workers throughout the District of Columbia. Wage theft occurs when workers do not get paid for work performed or are laid off without being paid their salary. Carlos Diaz, a member of la Union de Trabajadores de DC, says “Many of us work long hours to make ends meet. But frequently contractors refuse to pay what we are owed at the end of the day. We are happy that the D.C. police will now get involved in assisting us to recover our wages”. rnrnThis procedure defines the role of the police in supplementing existing institutions by creating a standard protocol and training for officers when responding to wage theft claims. This celebration will confirm the mutual understanding we have reached on how MPD and DOES can develop a partnership to assist workers with their wage theft claims. rnrn”It is important that we all come together as a community to combat the egregious practice of wage theft” says Nikki Daruwala, Executive Director of DC Jobs with Justice. “We believe that stopping wage theft is good for workers and their families as well as the economy as a whole.” rn