Wage theft is a crime. Are you a victim?

If your employer asks you to work without clocking in, requests a percentage of your tips, refuses to pay overtime or misclassifies your work category to avoid payroll tax requirements, guess what? That company is stealing from you. The methods some employers will use to avoid paying employees is staggering. You don’t go to work to have your employer steal from you. You did the work and deserve to be paid in full for your efforts. It’s just that simple.

That is why my colleagues and I are taking the first step in addressing wage theft in our community. Your City-County Council is pro-business and we completely support economic development in our community. We also know that the far majority of businesses in Marion County are following the law than are not. We have wonderful businesses providing countless jobs and creating an employment and economic climate that is enhancing the quality of life for many of families. But we have a responsibility to ensure all employees are paid fairly, so we must tackle this issue head-on and leave no stone unturned to make sure our family’s paychecks reflect what they have earned, down to the very last cent.

Soon your Indianapolis City-County Council will vote on Proposal 248, which will provide us with a means to recover any incentives that may have been awarded to company’s working on city contracts if they are found to have committed wage theft or payroll fraud. The proposal will also require anyone wishing to do business with the city to provide a sworn statement of any known payroll fraud or wage theft within a three-year time period prior to being awarded a contract.

We have a responsibility to ensure employees who are working on City-funded projects are paid in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws. Wage theft of any sort, including but not limited to failing to properly pay employees for work performed, paying less than minimum wage, failing to pay overtime, and paying cash without keeping appropriate records is illegal and will not be tolerated.

Now you think that a city like ours would not need this sort of law. After all, we’re in Indiana, the Crossroads of America, famously known for our Hoosier Hospitality. Wage theft in Indianapolis – that isn’t possible, surely that happens somewhere else. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. In a study conducted in 2009 by the National Employment Law Project, researchers found of the 4,500 low-wage workers surveyed, 60 percent had been shorted by their employers an average of $51 per week. And, if you multiply that $51 by the number of weeks in a year, that gives you a total of $2,634 in stolen wages.

Imagine if someone took that money out of your household and no one could or no one would do anything about it. You would be upset and rightfully so.

Proposal 248 holds us accountable and provides a means for monitoring this situation. Wage theft affects thousands of employees in our city and it doesn’t discriminate. It can be found in any industry that you can imagine and it doesn’t matter what the size of the company might be. While it’s primary target is always the same – low-income families – all of us could become victims. Your City-County Council is taking a stand by implementing a law to protect those being paid by city contractors, we invite the entire community join us in our efforts.