Wage Theft Steals More From Workers Than All Robberies, Burglaries, and Car Thefts Combined

Every year, employers steal an estimated $50 billion from American workers. That's more than the total value of all robberies, burglaries, larcenies, and motor vehicle thefts in the country combined.

What Wage Theft Looks Like

• Not paying overtime
• Paying below minimum wage
• Making employees work off the clock
• Stealing tips
• Misclassifying employees as independent contractors
• Shaving hours off timecards
• Not paying for required training time

Who Gets Hurt

Wage theft disproportionately hits the people who can least afford it. Restaurant workers, construction workers, retail employees, janitors, home care aides. People working two and three jobs just to keep the lights on.

A dishwasher who gets cheated out of $100 in overtime pay feels that loss in a way that a CEO making $20 million never could. But guess who has lawyers and lobbyists?

The Two-Tier Justice System

When a worker steals from a company, they get fired and possibly arrested. When a company steals from workers, they might get a fine — usually a fraction of what they stole. Repeat offenders face almost no consequences.

The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is so understaffed that it would take them 141 years to investigate every employer in the country just once. Many states have even fewer resources. Companies know the odds of getting caught are slim, and the penalties are a cost of doing business.

The Bigger Picture

While corporations post record profits and CEOs make 400 times what their average worker earns, the people actually doing the work are getting their wages stolen with impunity. This isn't just a labor issue — it's the clearest example of how the system is rigged against regular people.