As the economy sinks, 'wage theft' suits rise

At Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, one leading indicator of the sour economy is the spate of "wage theft" lawsuits brought by immigrant laborers against employers who have not paid them.

Representing 10 immigrants of various nationalities in a recent case, staff attorney Nadia Hewka won a judgment totaling $18,000 for nonpayment of wages. All had worked for a single contractor at several construction sites in the city.

"What employers think they can get away with gets worse when the economy is bad," Hewka said.

Many of the immigrants who turn to Community Legal Services "have stuck around at a job hoping they will get paid," but don't, she said. And some workers, especially day laborers, are afraid to speak up because employers threaten to report them to immigration authorities if they do.

Hewka's 10 plaintiffs were not all illegal immigrants, "but the employer assumed, because they were Spanish speakers, they were all undocumented," she said. "I didn't ask every one about his status, but I imagine some were undocumented."

Founded in 1966 by the Philadelphia Bar Association to assist low-income clients, Community Legal Services does not take federal funding, so it is able to represent undocumented clients.

The law says workers are entitled to be paid for their hours regardless of their immigration status, said Hewka, who cited rulings by state and federal courts in several jurisdictions and administrative decisions by federal and state Departments of Labor.

While it might seem outlandish to enforce labor laws on behalf of someone with no legal right to be in the country, there is an underlying rationale, Hewka said. If payment were not required, unscrupulous employers would hire only illegal immigrants because they could cheat them in tough times.

"A lot of people are focusing right now on the recession," Hewka said, but her clients, especially those in construction, have been hurting for most of the last year.

There are more cases than the legal staff can handle, from the entire spectrum of low-wage workers.

"We've been slammed in the past month, turning away 20 to 40 cases," she said, and the situation is likely to worsen with the continuing poor economy.