by DC Jobs with Justice | Mar 17, 2014 | Projects
Cold weather didn’t stop over 75 people from showing up on the steps of the City Council on Friday morning for a rally calling for an end to wage theft in the District and the passage of new legislation to tackle the issue. The crowd gathered with signs and “No Wage Theft” stickers at 8:30 AM before the scheduled committee hearing on the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2014. The bill, co-introduced by Councilmembers Orange (At- large), Cheh (Ward 4), and Graham (Ward 1) with a number of co-sponsors, will create better protections for workers that speak out for their rights, as well as create a mechanism for issuing enforceable judgements at the Office of Wage-Hour that can result in penalties for employers that repeatedly break the law. Community members shared their moving stories and demanded and end to wage theft during the rally outside before the committee hearing. Beyond explaining that people should be paid fairly for the work they do, speakers also adamantly stated that wage theft is an issue that hurt everyone. By not penalizing employers that break the law, business that do the right are at a competitive disadvantage, since not paying workers effectively becomes an interest-free loan. Ari Weissbard, Director of the Employment Justice Center, explained in his testimony that DC received an F on a recent study as a result of how widespread wage theft is in the city. “A worker is more likely to be robbed by their employer than they are on the street or at home.” Yet, while there are channels to receive renumeration for most theft and penalties against...
