Wage theft is a problem in Iowa - and the shutdown's making it worse

As the federal government shutdown continues, everyday Iowans already affected by wage theft now bear the added burden of not having access to help on their wage claims handled by Iowa Workforce Development.

This month, CCI members with pending wage claims for thousands of dollars from unscrupulous employers, were left high and dry as IWD employees working on their cases were furloughed until further notice.

“I have been waiting for so long to recover my wages. This affects me, my family and hundreds of other workers,” said Heron Ortiz, a CCI member from Des Moines who is owed over $1,500 in unpaid wages. “The system already takes a very long time, and now my case is paralyzed,” he said. “It’s not fair to have to wait for Congress all the way there in Washington DC, so that I can recover the wages I already earned here in Iowa.”

Iowa Workforce Development handles cases of wage theft and misclassification (also known as payroll fraud) which cost an estimated $600 million annually to working Iowans, and $60 million in state revenues, according to a report by the Iowa Policy Project released in 2012. Iowans across the state rely on this state agency to address many workforce related issues, including unpaid wages, occupational health and safety standards, labor certifications and career services. IWD only employs one full-time and one part-time wage claim investigators for the entire state of Iowa.

CCI members are also having trouble reporting wage and hour violations to the regional office of the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is in charge of enforcing basic labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, minimum wage laws and the Family Medical Leave Act.

“The people that caused this shutdown need to fix it. We need to recover our hard-earned money to put food on the table,” Ortiz said. CCI members in Central Iowa call on Congressman Tom Latham, who voted for the government shutdown, to consider the pressing needs of constituents and work to end the shutdown.