Put an End to Wage Theft in Colorado

I want to express my strong support for The Income Protection Act, HB13-1227, which would make it harder for unethical employers to underpay or not pay their workers all the wages legally owed to them. Please vote in support of HB 13-1227.

Wage theft is a big problem across the country and here in Colorado.
• Every year in the U.S. employees lose billions of dollars in rightfully earned income. The Economic Policy Foundation, a business-funded think tank, estimated that workers in the U.S. annually lose $19 BILLION in unpaid overtime, alone. (Craig Becker, “A Good Job for Everyone: Fair Labor Standards Act Must Protect Employees in Nation’s Growing Service Economy,” Legal Times, 27, No, 36, Sept 6, 2004)
• Wage theft hurts honest employers when wage theft occurs largely unchecked, as they are left at a competitive disadvantage by paying full wages, creating a “race to the bottom.”
• Wage theft harms the state budget, resulting in lost income tax. It is estimated that before New York State passed their own new Wage Theft law, they were losing $427 million of state revenue per year due to Wage Theft. (Traub and Friedman, 2010)

I believe The Income Protection Act for Colorado helps remove the many barriers that victims of wage theft currently experience in getting the wages that are already owed to them. Over 5,200 workers in our State currently contact the CDLE with wage and hour claims and the Department only has a few hard-working staff to handle these calls. This Bill will help provide victims of Wage Theft more avenues to resolve their issues.