Activists Celebrate New Police Procedure for Reporting Wage Theft

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Activists Celebrate New Police Procedure for Reporting Wage Theft(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)DC workers who have been victims of wage theft by unscrupulous employers can now report the crime to police just as they would any robbery. “Many of us work long hours to make ends meet,” said local day laborer Carlos Diaz. “But frequently contractors refuse to pay what we are owed at the end of the day.” Diaz is a member of La Unión de Trabajadores de DC (DC Workers' Union), which, with DC Jobs with Justice, established a partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to involve police officers in documenting and investigating wage theft cases. Wage theft is when workers do not get paid for work performed or are laid off without being paid their salary; the new MPD procedure defines the role of the police in supplementing existing institutions by creating a standard protocol and training for officers when responding to wage theft claims. “We are happy that the D.C. police will now get involved in assisting us to recover our wages” added Diaz. - report by DC JwJ’s Rachel Sier; photo: La Union de Trabajadores members and DC JwJ staffers celebrate MPD wage theft agreement victory; photo courtesy DC JwJ

 

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