Task Force Recovers $40K For Underpaid Workers
MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) - Approved last year to help hourly employees fight back when their employer tries to cheat them out of their wages, Miami-Dade's commissioner said the county's Wage Theft Ordinance has helped workers recover thousands of dollars owed to them.
Spearheaded by Commissioner Natacha Seijas, the ordinance was passed by the commission last February. It's designed to deter employers from underpaying or not paying employees when they leave. Last September, the Department of Small Business Development (SBD) was tasked with putting the Wage Theft Ordinance into action and enforcing its rules.
In the last few months, the agency fielded nearly 400 complaints and was able to recover $40 thousand in back wages for employees.
"We're pleased with the success of the Wage Theft Ordinance thus far and look forward to the day when employers no longer engage in this practice because they know that there are consequences," said Seijas in a written statement.
"The Miami-Dade Wage Theft Ordinance has put real money into the pockets of workers and their families," said Jeanette Smith, Executive Director of South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice, "The best economic stimulus plan is a paycheck."
On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade Commission will declare Thursday, November 18, 2010 a Day Against Wage Theft. The declaration will be part of a national effort in over fifty cities across the country to combat the wage theft.
