If you think your boss is shortchanging you, you’re not alone: an estimated 2.1 million workers in New York State are victims of wage theft annually, totalling $3.2 billion in unpaid wages and benefits, according to labor advocates.
But what exactly is wage theft?
The term covers a whole range of ways an employer can shortchange workers, including:
an employer paying only part of a worker’s promised compensation
paying workers below the legal minimum wage
stringing an employee along for missed paychecks
misclassifying workers in order to avoid paying benefits
failure to pay overtime or the industry prevailing wage where those apply
and straight-up not paying workers at all
Workers toiling in the construction, hospitality and service industries are particularly vulnerable to wage theft, and undocumented workers in all industries even more so. But regardless of your immigration status, you have the same rights as any other worker to be fully compensated for your work — and to seek legal recourse if you believe you’re a victim of a crime.
To explore how your rights can be protected, THE CITY spoke with Rachana Pathak, who leads the Manhattan District Attorney’s Worker Protection Unit. Since DA Alvin Bragg established the unit in 2023, it has prosecuted eight companies and recovered and distributed more than $1.3 million in stolen wages from more than four dozen workers.
“Everyone in the unit really believes in the mission, and we just want to do right by these people,” said Pathak. “We don’t want to live in a society where a bad boss gets to keep doing what he’s doing and pay his workers minimum wage, or less than minimum wage, or nothing at all.”
Here’s her advice for workers who may be missing wages:
I think my boss is stealing wages from me. What should I do?
First: Get ready to start recording and documenting everything for proof, Pathak said. (More on that in a section below.)
Second: Be prepared to report your boss so that a prosecutor or government agency can step in on your behalf.
Here’s how to do that: If you live or work anywhere in New York State and believe you are the victim of wage theft, you can report it to the state Department of Labor. In New York City, you can also reach out to your local district attorney — just make sure you reach out to the office where your job site is located, whether it’s Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island.
Typically, you will report the allegation where the wage theft took place, not where you or your employer lives, Pathak said. For example: If you live in The Bronx but work at a restaurant in Manhattan, you would report it as wage theft in Manhattan.
If you’re not sure where to start, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Worker Protection Unit has a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week help line available via phone, text message or WhatsApp at 646-712-0298. The help line is also available in Spanish. They can help you determine where to report your problem, how to prepare and what to do next.
(Want to know whether your boss has been found to have withheld wages from workers in the past? Our friends at Documented recently updated their online Wage Theft Monitor tool tracking recorded incidents in New York State.)
How do the investigations work? Who is going to interview me, and will my boss know I spoke up?
If you report wage theft to law enforcement, you’ll be interviewed by agents and lawyers from whatever agency you submitted your complaint to, whether it’s the state DOL or prosecutors. If you report wage theft to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Pathak said you’ll talk to her directly and other prosecutors in her unit.
You can file an anonymous complaint — meaning your employer won’t be notified that you submitted a complaint against them — but you will need to sit down with an agency investigator for an interview. And the DA’s office will work with your schedule and circumstances, she said.
“We can do it after hours, we can do it on weekends, we can come to you,” said Pathak. “I’ve gone out to New Jersey to meet witnesses.”
How should I prepare? What proof do I need to show?
Keeping dates and times of when you worked is crucial to bolstering your case, she said.
You’ll need to show proof of employment, such as a copy or photo of your sign-in sheet.
If you don’t punch in or out of your shifts, keep a log of your dates and hours worked on your notebook, computer or phone. If you work construction, make sure you also note the addresses of your job sites. Even text messages with your supervisors could help boost your case, said Pathak.
And if you’re paid in cash, there’s still ways you can submit that as evidence, she noted. “Keep track of it,” in a notebook or on your phone, she said. “A lot of it is Zelle payments right now, bounced checks is another way we can trace it back.”
But really, anything goes as far as evidence, she said.
And in a recent case her unit brought against Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, management tried to deny some of the plaintiffs ever worked there, but one of the workers — a cleaner — had taken photos of herself in uniform and on the job. “And so that became rebuttal evidence to show that, yes, she actually worked there.”
My boss is stealing wages from me, but he threatened to call ICE if I complain. What are the risks of speaking with prosecutors?
It’s up to you to decide if you want to come forward and speak to law enforcement about your situation, said Pathak. Threats to inform immigration authorities are a “very real concern” and will probably become even more common as the Trump administration emphasizes immigration enforcement and conducts highly visible raids and deportations across the country. “But we want to convey that we are here for you if you are being exploited,” she said.
“If you don’t participate, if you don’t come forward, then the employer gets away with it, and I don’t think that’s what we want,” added Pathak. “It’s a race to the bottom.”
Would her office ever refer cases to ICE? When asked, Pathak responded “absolutely not.”
Temporary deportation relief known as “deferred action” has been available under a program established by President Joe Biden that protects undocumented workers who were victims or witnesses to a crime in the workplace — but Pathak notes that you’ll need to consult with your immigration attorney about how to do that.
How long does it take for you to litigate wage theft complaints? When will I get my money back?
The time it takes from when you report wage theft until you receive your payment depends on a number of factors, said Pathak.
Having solid evidence of your work dates and times is crucial to moving things along quickly. Even if you don’t have all the goods, if your coworkers also file their own complaints and turn over their own evidence, it helps everyone’s case, she added.
“If we get 10 workers from a certain company, and they don’t have great records, the fact that 10 people are coming in corroborates” the allegations, she said.
And while it’s a good thing if more coworkers join you in reporting impropriety, it will inevitably stretch the investigation as prosecutors interview and gather evidence from more victims.
Take the Manhattan DA office’s recent prosecution against Grimaldi’s, she said. That investigation, stemming from a call to the office’s help line by a dishwasher who was owed $600 in wages, stretched to nearly a year as 18 people came forward, said Pathak.
But once her office brought the indictment, the case came to “a very quick resolution,” she said, and the employer, who pleaded guilty, “paid back the money within two months of the arrest.”
But if the case goes to trial or the employer declares bankruptcy, you will have to wait longer to receive restitution.
If we win my case: Do I receive my restitution automatically? Will my coworkers receive payments, too?
If the Manhattan DA is litigating your case, you need to be a cooperative witness in order to receive your payment. That means meeting regularly with investigators and prosecutors, and turning over evidence that helps your case. Your coworkers will only receive payments if they file their own complaints, too.
“It’s part of my plea negotiations. You know, I have to say to a defense attorney, ‘I have 20 witnesses and great evidence, pay up,’” said Pathak. “So I do need cooperative yeses, which is always a battle.”
Once your boss provides the check, you’ll be able to pick up your funds in person at the Manhattan DA’s office one to two months later.
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