Senator Sue Morano (D-Lorain) held a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse today addressing the problem of wage theft in Ohio. Members of the labor and religious communities joined Senator Morano at the conference. November 19th is the National Day of Action to Stop Wage Theft.

“Wage theft is a very real problem across the nation and here in Ohio,” said Senator Morano. “Too many hard working Ohioans are being cheated out of the wages they’ve earned. This legislation affirms Ohio’s commitment to protecting workers.”

Wage theft, the act of an employer not paying an employee for the total time worked, is a dilemma facing thousands of workers in Ohio. This Wednesday, Senator Morano introduced Senate Bill 212, the Wage Protection Act, in the Ohio Senate to expand the Department of Commerce’s enforcement abilities to allow the Director to investigate complaints beyond the scope of minimum wage.

Under current law, the Ohio Department of Commerce is only permitted to investigate and resolve violations of the minimum wage requirements of the Ohio Constitution. An employee who earns above the minimum wage is presently unable to file a complaint with the Department for the full amount of unpaid wages. Civil action may be taken, but this is often a difficult route for many working Ohioans to take, given today’s economic climate.
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