Fighting wage theft and standing up for workers’ rights
The Attorney General needs new powers to protect workers
As Massachusetts continues to claw its way out of the economic challenges caused by the pandemic, low income workers across the Commonwealth are increasingly exploited by unscrupulous employers who refuse to pay them what they have earned.
This set of bad practices — collectively known as wage theft — affects hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers in Massachusetts a year, depriving them of nearly a billion dollars in stolen wages, according to some estimates.
Too often, companies farm out work to subcontractors that violate prevailing wage, minimum wage, and overtime laws and exploit undocumented workers. When employers misclassify full time workers as independent contractors, it harms hard-working employees and the economy as a whole — and it violates Massachusetts law.
Last year, the Attorney General’s Office issued 160 citations against 72 construction companies for misclassifying workers and violating prevailing wage laws. The Attorney General’s Office returned more than $750,000 in wages to 565 workers and fined companies more than $500,000 for their misconduct.
But there is much more to be done.
To combat this growing problem, the legislature should act right away to increase the powers of the Attorney General and workers themselves. A pair of bills filed by Sen. Sal DiDomenico (S1179) and Rep. Dan Donahue (H1959) would clarify responsibility for upholding labor standards and give the Attorney General and workers new tools to fight wage theft and hold violators accountable.
Among other things, these important bills would put lead contractors on notice when their subcontractors fail to obey the law, give the Attorney General the power to bring civil wage theft cases directly to court, allow the Attorney General to issue stop work orders, and give whistleblowers new rights and protections from retaliation.
As a former Assistant Attorney General, I’ve seen first hand how much impact the Attorney General can have on the lives of workers and consumers. And as a political appointee in the administrations of Presidents Obama and Biden, I have worked hard throughout my career to help build an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy.
In a time of staggering income and wealth inequality, Massachusetts needs to step up to make sure that workers actually receive the wages they have earned through their hard work.
It’s time for the legislature to act to give the Attorney General and workers new tools to take on wage theft.
Quentin Palfrey is a Democratic Candidate for Attorney General of Massachusetts. He previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, as well as Senior Advisor for Jobs & Competitiveness in the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy under President Obama and Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Biden. Palfrey was the 2018 Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.
