Wage Theft
About the series
Between 2018 and 2022, San Diego County courts have ordered employers to pay back nearly $20 million in stolen wages to employees. But the recovery process often proves challenging and lengthy for workers who get little help from the state.
This series by inewsource explores San Diego County’s top wage theft cases, and explains how to pursue claims of wage theft against a former employer.
inewsource investigative reporter Sofía Mejías-Pascoe reported this project.
Series Reporting
Wage theft claims are rising again in San Diego, but prosecutions are rare
A new law takes aim at wage theft, which disproportionately impacts lower-wage workers, especially immigrants, women and people of color.
Five workplace rights San Diego workers should know
Workers in California have some of the strongest laws protecting them of anywhere in the country, but asserting their rights requires knowing what they are.
Wage theft in San Diego returns to pre-pandemic levels as officials take aim at offenders
New programs aimed at curbing wage theft are underway in San Diego County, but labor advocates say government could do more to help workers.
An Escondido company owes ex-employees $300k after stealing wages. Years later, they haven’t been paid
Even with the help of an attorney, recovering stolen wages from an employer can be a painstaking, lengthy and sometimes impossible endeavor.
California does a great job recovering workers’ stolen wages. But few get help
The Judgment Enforcement Unit performs active investigations for just a fraction of workers with unpaid wage judgments in San Diego.
