Agustin Gonzalez became a casualty of the real-estate bust in 2007 when he lost his construction job in the Florida Keys.

Since then, he says, he has become another kind of casualty: a victim of wage theft.

Gonzalez now works as a day laborer in the Miami area, waiting on street corners or in front of Home Depot for pickup jobs. He says he has been cheated of pay three times, including twice this year on landscaping and construction jobs that cost him at least $2,600.

"I feel like a slave," says Gonzalez, 38, who entered the USA from Panama in 2006 on a work visa that has expired. "I feel like day laborers are just here to be used without respect."
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As the economy falters, lawmakers are taking action on the increase of wage-theft complaints.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natacha Seijas plans to propose an ordinance cracking down on wage theft next month. The legislation, yet to be drafted, may impose fines or other penalties, she says.

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