Enforcement Is Next Task for
Law on Wage Theft
(New York Times & Texas Tribune)
HOUSTON – For two years, Diego Gala, a Mexican immigrant in the country illegally, worked five days a week cleaning a private school for less than minimum wage. His employer refused to pay him overtime even when he was forced to work on the weekends. Mr. Gala did not speak up, fearing deportation if he reported his boss.
“I couldn’t say nothing because I did not have papers,” Mr. Gala said. “So he was like, ‘If you say something, you can just get deported. I can call immigration on you, or you can get fired.’ ”
Mr. Gala, who was brought to the United States as a small child, grew up not knowing his immigration status until it came time for him to find a job. Workers’ rights advocates say that is not unusual; wage theft is a major problem in Texas, particularly among undocumented workers who do not push for their rightful earnings for fear of drawing the attention of immigration officials.
(Read the full story here.)
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