I just did a search on Kos to see if anyone had done a diary about this, and I was surprised that I didn't find any.
Yesterday, the New York Times published an article that detailed how low-wage workers were cheated out of not only wages, but benefits and legally-protected rights.
I actually saw this sort of thing when I was actively practicing law in private practice. This is nothing new; but it is a good thing that someone is finally saying something about it.
This is also tied into the fight for national healthcare, follow me after the jump so I can explain how.
The study, the most comprehensive examination of wage-law violations in a decade, also found that 68 percent of the workers interviewed had experienced at least one pay-related violation in the previous work week.
Think about that: more than two-thirds of low-wage earners studied had been cheated out of a fair days pay just in the last week. If there are that many workers being deprived of a fair wage in one week, imagine how much it adds up over time.
But that's not all. Workers weren't just deprived of their pay, they were also talked out of claiming their rights under the workers' compensation law.
The researchers said one of the most surprising findings was how successful low-wage employers were in pressuring workers not to file for workers’ compensation. Only 8 percent of those who suffered serious injuries on the job filed for compensation to pay for medical care and missed days at work stemming from those injuries.
"The conventional wisdom has been that to the extent there were violations, it was confined to a few rogue employers or to especially disadvantaged workers, like undocumented immigrants," said Nik Theodore, an author of the study and a professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois, Chicago. "What our study shows is that this is a widespread phenomenon across the low-wage labor market in the United States."
I saw this myself while practicing. I also saw workers who were pressured to sign agreements to quit their job as part of workers' compensation settlements. And guess who the burden fell on? The spouses and other family members who couldn't afford to take up the slack.
How did the workers then pay for their healthcare when they got injured on the job?
In instances when workers’ compensation should have been used, the study found, one third of workers injured on the job paid the bills for treatment out of their own pocket and 22 percent used their health insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance paid medical expenses for only 6 percent of the injured workers surveyed, the researchers found.
This is an example of exactly how a national healthcare program can reduce burdens on business. If workers -- particularly American workers -- had the right to see a medical professional whenever they are sick or injured, the cost for worker's compensation could be reduced. That also goes for auto accidents, medical malpractice and other lawsuits where medical bills are part of the computation for damages.
But I suspect that the real reason "business interests" are opposing national healthcare is because it clearly will give workers more bargaining power. If workers can go anywhere in the country and keep their healthcare, they can be more mobile and go to where there is better pay, advancement and opportunity.
Another surprising finding is that conventional wisdom holds that these workers who are exploited are "illegals." That's not true, either.
According to the study, 39 percent of those surveyed were illegal immigrants, 31 percent legal immigrants and 30 percent native-born Americans.
That means that more than 6 out of 10 workers studied were either American citizens or legal immigrant workers.
The study found that 26 percent of the workers had been paid less than the minimum wage the week before being surveyed and that one in seven had worked off the clock the previous week. In addition, 76 percent of those who had worked overtime the week before were not paid their proper overtime, the researchers found.
More than 1 in 4 workers was paid less than minimum wage and more than 3 out of 4 was made to work overtime and didn't get paid what they were due under the law.
This is outrageous!
And the fish rots from the head down:
But many small businesses say they are forced to violate wage laws to remain competitive.
And what did the study conclude?
"These practices are not just morally reprehensible, but they’re bad for the economy," said Annette Bernhardt, an author of the study and policy co-director of the National Employment Law Project. "When unscrupulous employers break the law, they’re robbing families of money to put food on the table, they’re robbing communities of spending power and they’re robbing governments of vital tax revenues."
Let's hope that something can be done to reverse this trend. I fear that so much bargaining power has been lost that we may be beyond the ability to achieve justice for the working "Joe Sixpacks" of this country.