Back when times were good and jobs plentiful, workers who felt they were being cheated of their pay could quit and find other work.  But these are not good times.  Now, many workers, in such industries as construction and janitorial, are staying on the job without pay for weeks or even months, hoping things will get better. In the end, when they do quit — or are fired — many are unable to get the pay employers owe them.

Wage theft has become such a problem that the city of Seattle is considering legislation that would make it a criminal offense to intentionally fail to pay an employee for work performed.  "We've concluded that the system ... does not offer the protections that we think are appropriate for some of the most vulnerable people in our community," said Councilmember Tim Burgess, who is proposing the legislation.

"We're sending a message that at least inside our city, we don't want this kind of activity to be going on."  The proposed ordinance will be discussed at a committee hearing at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and introduced to the full council next week. It is broadly modeled after an ordinance in Austin, Texas — one of a small but growing number of cities that have made wage theft a crime.  "Cities and states are waking up to the fact that wage theft is a huge problem," said Rebecca Smith, Seattle-based staff attorney for the New York-based National Employment Law Project. (click on link to read full story)