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HOME — FACTS — TABLES — VIDEOS — INFOGRAPHICS — AGENCIES — RESEARCH <br />Finn, Sean. (2022). A Heist in Plain Sight. Common Good Iowa. <br />Kev Finding: Each year, employers steal wages from 1-in-7 Iowa workers, amounting to $900 million in stollen wages ($300 <br />each week for victims) and $190 million in lost tax revenue. Wage theft is most common in construction, food service, <br />hospitality, nursing, and childcare jobs. When low -road employers steal wages to cut costs, responsible businesses lose <br />out. <br />Weidl, Evan. (2022). "Opinion: Wage Theft Needs More Attention." The Daily Iowan. <br />Kev Finding: In Iowa, for every $1,000 stolen via wage theft, just $2 are recovered by public agencies. This loses the state <br />over $190 million in tax revenue. <br />Waddoups, Jeffrey; Kevin Duncan; and Russell Ormiston. (2021). Payroll Fraud in Nevada's Construction <br />Industry: Extent and Fiscal Impact. University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Colorado State University -Pueblo; <br />Allegheny College; Institute for Construction Employment Research (ICERES). <br />Kev Finding: There were about 12,700 workers who were either misclassified as independent contractors or employed off - <br />the -books in Nevada's construction industry in 2018, representing 11% of the industry and 14% of blue-collar construction <br />workforce. This resulted in $31 million in unpaid workers' comp premiums, a $12 million shortfall in the state UI fund, and <br />$7 million in uncollected tax revenue via the Modified Business Tax. <br />Mangundayao, Ihna; Celine McNicholas; Margaret Poydock; and Ali Sait. (2021). More Than $3 Billion in <br />Stolen Wages Recovered for Workers Between 2017 and 2020. Economic Policy Institute. <br />Kev Finding: Between 2017 and 2020, $3.24 billion in stolen wages was recovered on behalf of workers by the U.S. <br />Department of Labor, state departments of labor and attorneys general, and through class and collective action litigation — <br />but this represents just a small portion of wages stolen from workers across the country. Potential policy options include <br />increasing funding for the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, engaging in proactive and strategic enforcement <br />in industries where violations are especially rampant, enhancing civil monetary penalties for violations, protecting worker <br />rights to unionize, and boosting funding for state and local enforcement. <br />Juravich, Tom; Russell Ormiston; and Dale Belman. (2021). The Social and Economic Costs of Illegal <br />Misclassification, Wage Theft, and Tax Fraud in Residential Construction in Massachusetts. University of <br />Massachusetts -Amherst; Allegheny College; Michigan State University; Institute for Construction <br />Employment Research (ICERES). <br />Kev Finding: Audits of employer payrolls from 2017 to 2019 indicate that more than one -in -six Massachusetts construction <br />employers (17% to 18%) misclassify their workers as independent contractors. Utilizing a well -established empirical <br />approach of indirectly estimating the full extent of misclassification, there were between 22,000 and 37,000 workers <br />affected by wage and tax fraud in 2019, accounting for 9% to 16% of the industry's workforce. This was especially prevalent <br />among building finishing contractors (e.g., drywall, finish carpentry, painting). This led to $41 million in lost unemployment <br />insurance contributions $41 million in lost income taxes, and $78 million in lost workers' comp premiums in 2019. <br />Ormiston, Russell; Mark Erlich; and Dale Belman. (2021). Payroll Fraud in New York's Construction <br />Industry: Estimating its Prevalence, Severity and Economic Costs. Allegheny College; Harvard University; <br />Michigan State University; Institute for Construction Employment Research (ICERES). <br />Kev Finding: There were between 76,000 and 126,000 workers who were either misclassified as independent contractors <br />or employed off -the -books in New York's construction industry in 2017, representing 13% to 21% of all construction <br />workers. This resulted in $289 million in unpaid workers' comp premiums and a $49 million shortfall in the state UI fund. <br />Morgenson, Gretchen and Lisa Cavazuti. (2021). "The Hidden Scourge of 'Wage Theft': When Higher <br />Profits Come Out of Workers' Pockets." NBC News. <br />Kev Finding: In this piece of investigative journalism, reporters highlight a wage theft case from Cedar Rapids, Iowa in which <br />out-of-state workers were brought in following a natural disaster to rebuild. One company—BluSky Restoration <br />Contractors from Colorado —has a history of wage theft and once again stole from workers on the Iowa project. <br />50 <br />