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For the past four decades, the majority of American workers have been shortchanged by economic policymaking that has suppressed the growth of hourly wages and prevented greater improvements in living standards. Achieving a secure, middle-class lifestyle has become increasingly difficult as hourly pay for most workers has either stagnated or declined. For millions of the country's lowest-paid workers, financial security is even more fleeting because of unscrupulous employers stealing a portion of their paychecks.
Wage theft, the practice of employers failing to pay workers the full wages to which they are legally entitled, is a widespread and deep-rooted problem that directly harms millions of U.S. workers each year. Employers refusing to pay promised wages, paying less than legally mandated minimums, 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 in poverty. Wage theft does not just harm the workers and families who directly suffer exploitation; it also weakens the bargaining power of workers more broadly by putting downward pressure on hourly wages in affected industries and occupations. For many low-income families who suffer wage theft, the resulting loss of income forces them to rely more heavily on public assistance programs, unduly straining safety net programs and hamstringing efforts to reduce poverty.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday May 22 2017, @08:32PM (2 children)
In all walks of life, I think this saying applies:
You can wrestle a pig but in the end you'll both get dirty, and the pig enjoys it.
Sure, you can take criminal scum to court, you might win, you might lose, but it's going to cost so much more effort and frustration than simply finding somewhat less criminal scum to work for - and you'll have more net income to show for your effort. Some days it feels like the scum needs to be "taught a lesson" or "exposed for the garbage that they are," but, mostly, it's just going to be wrestling a pig in the mud, and you'll rarely, if ever, get the full vindication you were hoping for.
I was hit by a hit and run driver in a stolen car, I stuck around and filed a report with the Public Safety Officer who decided I and two witnesses (strangers to me) were lying and made up his own version of what happened when he wasn't there to write on the official report. I ran around and got notarized witness statements that basically said that the PSA's version was physically impossible, then went for my day in court. PSA didn't show, instant win. Was an incredibly empty feeling.
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(Score: 2) by number11 on Friday May 26 2017, @03:39PM (1 child)
Isn't this true of crime in general? If you get mugged, reporting it to the police isn't going to benefit you personally, it will just mean having to wait around and interact with the police, and perhaps being required to attend a trial at an inconvenient time and perhaps monetary loss. It's not like the mugger is likely to ever pick you personally as a victim again. Just a waste of time.
Is the preferred route to go home, get a gun, and resolve that the next person who tries to steal your money will end up full of holes? Is there any difference between that thieving employer and a mugger, other than (as Woodie Guthrie said) "some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen."
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday May 26 2017, @06:18PM
All true, so - are you a justice seeker, or a selfish seeker of happiness for yourself?
I tried to get some car thieves caught and prosecuted, the police declined to even try.
A professional office flim-flammed us and caused us a bunch of grief, I came very close to tearing them down through the licensing board but backed off before pushing the court case because it was getting blown way out of proportion for us - 20x the investment for justice seeking vs the harm actually done. In the end, we made enough noise with the office management to get the bad actors fired, but it could have gone full scale career wrecking ugly, and the blowback from that can be considerable.
Bottom line: people do what they think is right _for them_ and that doesn't always include seeking justice.
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