The GOP Believes That You Are Not Even Entitled To A Paycheck For Hours You Have Worked

[TheMastersNemesis]

The Colorado GOP killed a bill that would have made it illegal for an employer to steal someones pay check or not pay them for work performed. This Democratically sponsored bill was too much regulation.

Since my days at DOL I have watched wage theft increase astronomically. Now that the GOP has effectively disabled the "wage and labor enforcement" divisions in most of the states in the country, if your employer does not pay you it is ok, it is NOT illegal to do so. And now there are no enforcement authorities except at the federal level. If you steal something from the employer it is probably going to be a felony.

Workers now have little defense on stolen wages. Such theft includes short checking by not paying for all the hours worked. Another is not paying overtime pay. For restaurant workers it is not making up the difference in tips versus minimum wage. Yet another is misclassifying workers. Paying a less than agreed upon working wage. Taking money out of checks for damaged employer property.
And there are many many ways that workers can find their pay short. The most ingenious way is to no pay for health care premiums agreed upon or taking taxes out for unemployment insurance that the employer is supposed to pay. And the worst of all is taking Medicare and FICA taxes out of the workers pay keeping it and not paying the employer's share.

So if you are in Colorado and your employer does not pay you, YOU ARE OUT OF LUCK! Your only recourse is to hire a lawyer.

PS. There is a link to Crooks And Liars explaining the epidemic of "wage theft" that now inflicts the US work force.

[meow2u3]

1. Call it the GOP license to steal

They think the free market is a license to steal from their employees.

[tblue37]

2. For many employers, stealing from employees is the foundation of their business model!

When I was 19 years old I worked at a restaurant where the owners habitually shorted our hours.

The oldest waitress, a woman named Bernice, had worked there for decades and was a close friend of the couple who owned the restaurant. When Bernice trained me, she warned me to always check my hours, because the owners would cheat me if I didn’t.

Even after 40 years of dedicated work for and close friendship with the owners, she still had to check her hours every week, because shorting their employees was so much a part of their business model that they even continued to try to short Bernice!

[Blue_Tires]

18. +1

[dmr]

3. Link please

This is terrible news.

[SDjack]

4. Ultimately, that corporate policy leads to revenge theft and sabotage. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

15. There will be some employees that will passively accept getting shorted by their employer.

And then aggressively steal more than enough to make up that shortfall.

The quickest way an employer can turn an employee into a thief is to steal from them first.

[librechik]

5. .Colorado is a Right to Work state. Good luck doing anything for workers.

[valerief]

6. Slavery is on the 1%'s agenda. nt

[Initech]

7. If you expect me to work for free - fuck you!!!!

[sakabatou]

8. GOP: Fuck the workers!

[chknltl]

9. OP title describes my current boss.

Is a ron paulite and thinks ayn rand had some good ideas, believes in states having power to decide health care. I guess that item in our Constitution, repeated twice,regarding our government looking out for us got missed by him.

[sarcasmo]

10. Which is why for profit prisons are all the rage.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. Now watch Conservatives defend this

I guess they figure all they have to do is flash their Party Card and it wont affect them.

Much like they're able to flash their Party Card at the gas station and pay a buck a gallon.

[The Last Democrat]

12. liberechik.........Colorado is a Right to Work state.

Since when?

[TheMastersNemesis]

13. Colorado Is Not A Right To Work State At This Time.

If the GOP has its way Colorado will be a right to work state.

[librechik]

17. Hmm--good to know--

as a native Coloradan I have always been told it is a right to work state. If I'm wrong about that, from the responses it seems I might as well be right--the employers rule here, and good luck getting anything (except possibly UI and Workman's comp) for the workers. Andd the unions (some used to be strong here; my husband is in BCTGM?AFL/CIO) and now they are pathetic, even the health coverage.

[Sirveri]

14. Warm up the guillotines! Gotta get 'em ready.

It can get worse, but eventually we'll hit French revolution levels, and then that will be that.

[Risen Demon]

19. But how far will they have to push before something like that

I've grown a cynical view of the general "conservative" population. My view is as long as their candidate is white, charming, and holds a bible while wearing a lapel pin, they'll vote for him no matter what. The reason I have this view is probably because I've grown up around a lot of loud-mouthed, aggressive southern-baptists. Most hypocrites as well...

Hopefully violence won't be neccesary. If you've ever watched the music video for R.E.M's "Everybody Hurts", well, hopefully something like that instead. We just all say "fuck it", join together and walk away.

[fasttense]

16. Corporate America and CEOs want slaves.

And RepubliCONS want us to be those slaves.