I’m not like a super political person, and from my understanding its the idea that if I make a $10 thing for the bossman, but only get $1 that is wage theft?
But like, when I took the job I knew how much I was going to make?
Or is it like, people are literally not getting their paychecks?
I’m slightly inebreated, lazy, and don’t want my algorithms to start becoming politically charged from googling and youtubing this. I’m already collapse aware and my mental health is ultra fragile.
Help me Lemmy wan kenobi, you’re my only hope.
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Has your boss ever said something to you to the effect of “Hey I know you already clocked out but you forgot to do ___; can you knock that out for me real fast before you go home?”
If so, you’ve been the victim of wage theft. Wage theft isn’t not making the whole sum of the value you bring in to the company, it’s not getting any portion of the sum for which you are legally and ethically entitled to.
can you knock that out for me real fast
Yes, that’s wage theft, but I’m likely going to do that thing. But I would do such a thing with the expectation that I get my back scratched as well. Forgiveness for being late, fucking something up, whatever. In no case am I working more than 15 minutes without punching back in.
But if I don’t have that sort of relationship with my boss, or it’s a shitty company, hell no.
It’s not really a political thing. It’s just the name of a specific type of crime.
From the employer: They aren’t paying you for the wages agreed on when you were hired for the hours you have worked. Usually in the form of just not calculating your hours correctly (IE you worked 40 hours, they only pay you for 30).
From the employee: Lying about the hours worked to get paid more than you should. (IE you worked 30 but claim to and get paid for 40).
The former happens a lot more than the latter. In fact, it’s America’s #1 crime.
It’s not really a political thing
Labor is extremely political.
Labor laws in the US are extremely weak. We don’t have many laws protecting us. We don’t have many unions. All of that has political causes.
Wage theft is not enforced the same way regular theft is. If you walked out of the store with $100 of stuff “you forgot” was in your pocket, you’d plausibly be cuffed and in jail. If your manager steals $100 because “he forgot” to submit the timesheet correctly, what’s going to happen? Probably nothing.
This has been the world for so long it feels normal and intuitive. Like, of course the cops will come and stop a theft! That’s like what they’re there for. But why don’t the cops come and stop “white collar” crime? Why don’t we have anything like that? Political reasons.
And even if you did report that they stole from you, a lot of that burden is on you… Do you know how to find a lawyer and file a law suit? Are you going to just be fired if they find out?
Personally, if I was on a jury for someone who beat the living shit out of their manager for stealing wages, I would nullify.
Here is what I stole from the internet for you:
Wage theft occurs when employers do not pay workers according to the law. Examples of wage theft include paying less than minimum wage, not paying workers overtime, not allowing workers to take meal and rest breaks, requiring off the clock work, or taking workers’ tips.
Some easy examples you can relate to:
- do you work overtime, even for a minute, and don’t get paid for it? Wage theft!
- does your company make fun of people using their allowed days off, making you not use them? Wage theft!
- does your company make you buy tools required for your job, because the ones available are shit or non existant? Wage theft!
- does your boss call you during your days off, holidays or vacations? Wage theft!
- are you assigned tasks that are more suited to a higher compensation level, but don’t see a dime? Wage theft!
- are your coffee and lunch breaks interrupted early or entirely canceled and not compensated? Again, wage theft!
