Shelby County D.A. Joins Fight Against Wage Theft

By Eleanor Boudreau

Memphis, TN – Just about everyone has frustrations with their employer, but for most of us those frustrations don't include not getting paid. Not so for low-wage workers. More than two-thirds of low-wage workers experience wage theft at the hands of their employers according to a study by the National Employment Law Project; and there aren't many recourses for these vulnerable workers.

If your employer won't pay you what you're owed you can call up the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division and ask for an investigation, but this is often a slow process. You can also take your grievance to civil court and either (a) hire a lawyer or (b) represent yourself--both of which many low-wage workers are disinclined to do.

The newest option for low-wage workers is to contact the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, which has agreed to investigate some cases of wage theft as criminal.

Wage theft comes in many forms. For example, employers might not pay their employees outright, or they might pay them less than minimum wage, or they might refuse to pay overtime. In the windy, flag-filled plaza outside the Federal Building in downtown Memphis volunteers with Worker's Interfaith Network, with a flair for the dramatic, acted out some of the varied scenarios.

Under the new agreement with the district attorney's office only cases where workers haven't been paid at all or haven't gotten a final paycheck will be investigated.

Victims of wage theft have one last option; they can call the Worker's Interfaith Network. That's what Zorina Bowen did. She says a friend hired her to work long hours in a restaurant, then shortchanged her.

"I felt hurt, disappointed, because after all this is a friend of mine, we've been knowing each other for years," Bowen said.

Workers Interfaith Network investigates and responds to complaints of wage theft by applying what they call "community pressure." The Memphis chapter says they get 10 calls a week complaining of wage theft. A year ago they conducted a survey of low-wage workers in Memphis' bus terminals and social agencies. The group admits the survey was anecdotal and "not scientific," but the results line up with the much larger survey conducted by the National Employment Law Project--it found two out of every three low wage workers were victims of wage theft.