With rise in reports of immigrant wage theft, Colorado Attorney General issues warning
Advocacy groups are reporting a rise in incidents of wage theft and tenant abuse against immigrants who fear they have no recourse.
It's prompted Colorado's Attorney General to warn employers of their responsibilities under the law. One family says conditions are so dire, they're leaving the United States.
On three different occasions "Ricardo" says he was denied pay for work he completed. We agreed to use the pseudonym to protect his identity.
"I worked 15 days and they told me, 'We'll bring you your check in the afternoon or we'll talk to you,'" Ricardo explained to us in Spanish.
Ricardo has a wife and daughter who depend on the income. But it never came, he says.
"This person didn't pay me either," describing a second employer who he says also engaged in wage theft. Ricardo has been working in the construction industry he says, with a job hauling materials by truck.
Then his landlord came asking for rent.
"He told me if I didn't pay him, I wouldn't be able to take my belongings out," said Ricardo.
With increased immigration enforcement and fears of deportations, many immigrant workers in Colorado feel they have no rights, and that has other consequences.
Village Exchange CEO Amanda Blaurock said, "For people who are mixed status, who are undocumented is translating to a tremendous amount of entitlement for others to abuse those same individuals."
Wage theft and retaliation for reporting it is illegal, says Attorney General Phil Weiser.
"If you know about wage theft or threats or retaliation for people reporting wage theft, let us know about it so we can make sure that we protect workers and address this crime," Weiser said.
Weiser's office issued an alert after receiving informal reports of employers making illegal deportation threats to immigrant workers who report wage theft.
Ricardo said that raising concerns about reporting the crime didn't deter one employer, "(He) even told me, 'Do what you want. I won't pay you anymore.'"
Ricardo says the environment is such that he can no longer envision a future here. He's is taking his family back home, "We've decided to return to Mexico."
Ricardo said while the wage theft he says he experienced was a final straw, he noticed in recent months that wages are stagnating. He said he was offered more for money for the same work a couple of years ago.
Weiser added, "It's very important that we live under the rule of law in America and that we not allow people to prey on those who are vulnerable."
Under state law, workers who engage in "protected activity" are protected from retaliation. This includes filing formal and informal complaints about wage theft to an employer.
"To see this level of abuse happening and see the worst of humanity coming out is really, really sad," said Blaurock.
The Attorney General's office has published information in English and Spanish encouraging employees to report wage theft and retaliation to the appropriate authorities.
In addition to filing a formal claim with CDLE, workers are also encouraged to file a complaint at StopFraudColorado.gov if they have been subjected to any illegal employer conduct. Complaints can be filed in Spanish at No Mas Fraude.
Learn more here: https://coag.gov/press-releases/attorney-general-phil-weiser-alert-wage-theft-8-27-25/