Wage theft bill introduced

Good news! We're happy to report that our wage theft protection bill was introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives last week.Wage theft and worker misclassification are rampant problems for workers in Iowa and across the country. According to a national study, over $16 billion dollars in unpaid wages are stolen from employees every year by employers who don’t pay minimum wage, don’t pay overtime, make illegal deductions, force workers to work off the clock, or don’t even pay at all.Not only are employees not getting paid, but they are unable to pay rent, buy food, or other necessities, which has a reverberating economic impact on the community.

Last year:

Iowa CCI Action members worked with Senator Bill Dotzler last year to pass a wage theft protection bill through the Iowa Senate.

This year:

Now it’s on to the Iowa House of Representatives where Rep. Bruce Hunter introduced our bill (House File 2060) last week. The bill was assigned to the House Labor Committee and will have a subcommittee hearing in the upcoming weeks. We’ll be sure to bring members to give testimony and advocate for the bill!

About the bill:

HF2060 would provide more protection for workers who report wage theft and make it easier for Iowa Workforce Development to investigate bad employers who don’t pay their workers.

• It would require stricter record-keeping standards so both employer and employee understand the pay agreement before work starts, which would make it harder for employers to steal wages and give workers more proof if they do.
• It would provide workers protection from potential retaliation from their employer.

An hour’s work deserves an hour’s pay, no matter which way you cut it. Unfortunately, Iowa’s workers need more protection from unscrupulous employers who short-change their employees. Stay tuned for more information on how you can support workers’ rights at the Statehouse. Click like to share or tweet with your friends!