❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now

Texan advocacy group fighting to recoup unpaid wages

Elizabeth Trovall May 30, 2019
HTML EMBED:
COPY
A janitor does some cleaning at the Columbia Mall on July 24, 2017 in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

Texan advocacy group fighting to recoup unpaid wages

Elizabeth Trovall May 30, 2019
A janitor does some cleaning at the Columbia Mall on July 24, 2017 in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

American workers lose billions of dollars to wage theft each year — as much as $50 billion in 2016, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.

In another study, the progressive think-tank found that, in the 10 biggest states, 17% of low-wage workers experience wage theft each year.

Despite its prevalence, wage theft is difficult to investigate and often affects low-wage workers who have few resources to go after their money.

In Houston, one advocacy group is helping immigrant workers get back their unpaid wages. But it’s not an easy process.

Even workers with an official ruling in their favor can wait months, or years, to be compensated. Some may never see a dime of the thousands of dollars owed to them, even after months of trying.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.