Neri Canahui-Ortiz, council representative for Local Union 205 of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, speaks at a rally against wage theft on April 12. (Photo by Jay Paul)
State officials and labor organizers are bolstering their efforts to stop wage theft, thanks to new laws that strengthen protections for Virginia workers.
Wage theft occurs when companies underpay their employees, and this can include denying overtime pay and benefits, paying workers less than the minimum wage, or forcing employees to work while off the clock. Worker misclassification, one of the most common forms of wage theft, occurs when employers illegally classify their staff as “independent contractors” rather than full-fledged employees, says Kim Bobo, executive director of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. This allows companies to underpay workers and prevents employees from receiving benefits such as worker’s compensation if they’re injured on a job site.
Bobo says Virginia’s historically weak worker protections have allowed these abuses to hide in plain sight, though the state recently began bucking that trend. Reforms passed by the General Assembly in 2020 have strengthened penalties for misclassifying workers, while starting to raise the minimum wage and allowing workers to file suits against their employers to recover unpaid wages.
The Virginia Interfaith Center recently launched wagetheftva.org, a website designed to educate workers about their rights and connect them with resources. Additionally, Attorney General Mark Herring announced the launch of a new worker protection unit in March, led by criminal prosecutor Ayesha Meekins. The task force will focus on investigating and prosecuting employers who misclassify workers and commit wage theft and payroll fraud, though Herring expects the scope to broaden over time.
“It’s really the combination of new laws that are helping me bring a new focus on this issue,” he says. “In this newly created unit, we’re going to be able to marshal more of the resources in the attorney general’s office to educate workers on their rights and to help build strong cases.”
Bobo explains that while wage theft can happen in almost any sector, workers in low-wage industries including agriculture, food service, retail, landscaping and construction are targeted most often. According to a Richmond Times-Dispatch report, a Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) investigation found that dozens of workers were misclassified as independent contractors in the construction of the new $245 million General Assembly building.
VEC spokeswoman Joyce Fogg confirmed that the investigation was ongoing as of press time, though she declined to comment further.
Workers on the project also have filed a federal lawsuit against Richmond-based subcontractor Capital Interior Contractors and two labor brokers, accusing them of misclassifying employees. Michael Closter, chief financial officer for Capital Interior Contractors, said in a statement that the company has denied the allegations in court and is seeking their dismissal.
“We applaud any investigation in Virginia when it comes to the misclassification of workers,” says Frank Mahoney, communications director for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, which has condemned the alleged worker abuses in the new General Assembly building’s construction. “We’re going to watch closely to make sure that there’s actual positive gains from such an investigation.”
