Employee advocates sounded the alarm Tuesday that wage theft and intimidation against day laborers have increased in the past year as immigration enforcement operations expanded up.
As day laborers are often paid with cash and hired on the spot, employee advocates said trust is breaking down, especially for undocumented workers who fear demanding fair pay could put them at risk.
Jesus, declined to reveal his identity out of immigration enforcement fears, said he goes to an Orange County Home Depot parking lot every day, hoping for steady work and fair pay.
In December, Jesus said he was hired by a contractor to install tile at a home, with the promise of being paid up to $2,000 for the job.
Instead, after finishing the job in two and a half weeks alone, Jesus said he was paid $900, less than half of what he was promised.
Advocates at the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center said that complaints like Jesus’ are becoming more common with at least one or two day laborers coming to the organization every week, saying they haven’t gotten paid for their work.
“One of the new threats that employers are making in our region is that they tell the day laborers, ‘You better leave and stop asking for your pay, or I am going to report you to the immigration authorities,’” said Alexis Tenorio, workers’ rights director for the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center.
Tenorio said the number of reports of wage theft from undocumented workers has increased 40% in the past year amid ongoing immigration enforcement.
But he said workers, regardless of immigration status, must report wage theft and receive support by contacting the Department of Industrial Relations.
“They don’t need to know much information. They need to know where you worked, how much you worked, and whether your employer followed the law,” Tenorios said.
But for workers like Jesus, reporting wage theft is a hard step to take as he said he just wants to keep working to support his family.
Anyone who has been a victim of wage theft was encouraged to contact the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center or local worker rights groups for help.