Advocates push to make wage theft what it is: a crime

Stealing from a convenience store is a crime, and rightly so. But if a convenience store owner steals from his workers by not paying them, local authorities cannot charge the owner with any crime.

According to a Los Angeles Times story, advocate for day laborers and low-wage workers want to change that. Currently wage theft is covered by state and federal laws on the civil level. But a new ordinance proposed by City Councilman Richard Alarcon would give the authorities the power to charge employers with a misdemeanor for not paying wages.

Read the story at the L.A. Times.