What's Left to Remedy Wage Theft? How Arbitration Mandates that Bar Class Actions Impact Low-Wage Workers

Ruan, Nantiya

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2159963

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In the USA, only 3% of hospitality workers belong to a union compared to the all-industries average of 11% (Lowery et al, 2019). Indeed, one of the sectors in which wage theft is most prevalent is the restaurant industry and, with virtually absent representation, victims find little solace in the legal system that is unwelcoming of class actions and invariably dismissive of claims (Milkman et al, 2010;Ruan, 2012). Although recent efforts have aimed to increase representation and effect collective bargaining, progress is minimal (Bolton, 2019).…”

Section: Macro Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality workforce – new crisis or amplification of the norm?

Baum

Mooney

Robinson

et al. 2020

IJCHM

354

326

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hospitality workforce in situ between mid-April and June 2020. Design/methodology/approach This is a viewpoint paper that brings together a variety of sources and intelligence relating the impacts on hospitality work of the COVID-19 pandemic at three levels: macro (global, policy, government), meso (organisational) and micro (employee). It questions whether the situations faced by hospitality workers as a result of the pandemic are seed-change different from the precarious lives they normally lead or just a (loud) amplification of the “normal”. Findings In light of the fluid environment relating to COVID-19, conclusions are tentative and question whether hospitality stakeholders, particularly consumers, governments and the industry itself, will emerge from the pandemic with changed attitudes to hospitality work and hospitality workers. Practical implications This raises questions about hospitality work for key stakeholders to address in the future, some of which are systemic in terms of how precarious labour forces, critical to the global economy are to be considered by policy makers, organisations in a re-emerging competitive market for talent and for those who chose (or not) to work in hospitality. Social implications This paper contributes to ongoing debates about precarious work and the extent to which such practices are institutionalised and adopts an “amplification model” that may have value in futures-orientated analysis about hospitality and tourism. Originality/value This paper is wholly original and a reflection on the COVID-19 crisis. It provides a point of wider reference with regard to responses to crises and their impact on employment in hospitality, highlighting how ongoing change, fluidity and uncertainty serve to magnify and exacerbate the precarious nature of work in the industry.

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Section: Macro Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality workforce – new crisis or amplification of the norm?

Baum

Mooney

Robinson

et al. 2020

IJCHM

354

326

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In most cases, firms are required to pay arrears owed and an additional penalty, of 100% of arrears if paid within 14 days (the prompt payment discount) and 200% of arrears if paid later. 14 In other cases "where the potential arrears owed are low and the number of workers is small", the firm 12 An employee is often responsible for costs of FLSA litigation upfront, and may remain liable for attorney fees if unsuccessful (Ruan 2012). Free legal services are limited (and those with federal funding cannot serve undocumented workers).…”

Section: Hmrc Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incentives to Comply with the Minimum Wage in the US and UK

Stansbury

2024

Preprint

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There is substantial evidence of minimum wage noncompliance in the US and the UK. In this paper, I compile new, comprehensive data on the costs minimum wage violators incur when detected. In both countries, the costs violators face upon detection are often little more than the money they saved by underpaying. To have an incentive to comply under existing penalty regimes, typical US firms would thus have to expect a 47%-83% probability of detection by the DOL, or a 25% probability of a successful FLSA suit. In the UK, typical firms would have to expect a 44%-56% probability of detection. Actual probabilities of detection are substantially lower than this for many firms, and would likely remain so even with realistic increases in enforcement capacity. Improved enforcement alone is thus insufficient: expected penalties must also substantially increase to ensure that most firms have an incentive to comply. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper)

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How Employers Profit from Digital Wage Theft Under the FLSA

Tippett¹

2018

American Business Law J

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This study describes three types of digital wage theft, as depicted in 330 cases litigated in federal and state court. The first, known as “rounding,” occurs when employers set their timekeeping software to alter employee punch time in a preset increment (typically moving punches to the nearest quarter hour). The second, “automatic break deductions,” involves subtracting a preset increment of time (usually thirty minutes) from employee hours to reflect their scheduled meal break, regardless of whether the break is taken. Both such practices occupy a legal gray zone under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The third, known as “time shaving,” occurs when supervisors alter employee time records to reduce recorded hours. Although more clearly prohibited under existing rules, time shaving cases can be difficult to certify as collective actions beyond a single worksite. Plaintiffs seeking to recover lost wages in these cases face highly uncertain prospects in litigation. Outcomes depend on complex questions of fact and unpredictable judicial rulings that turn on implied notions of fairness. Even in successful cases, employers keep most of the lost wages because damages are only awarded to the small fraction of employees who opted in to the litigation. In sum, this article illustrates how federal rules fail to deter employers from adopting these practices. It concludes by recommending several changes to federal law.

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What's Left to Remedy Wage Theft? How Arbitration Mandates that Bar Class Actions Impact Low-Wage Workers

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality workforce – new crisis or amplification of the norm?

COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality workforce – new crisis or amplification of the norm?

Incentives to Comply with the Minimum Wage in the US and UK

How Employers Profit from Digital Wage Theft Under the FLSA

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