Stop Wage Theft

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SFIWJ's mission is to involve the faith community in issues that will improve the wages, benefits, and employment conditions of the workers, especially the low-wage workers, of South Florida.

Wage - Money that is paid or received for work or services

Theft - The wrongful taking of personal property or money

How to file a wage theft claim

in Miami Dade County

Miami-Dade is the first county in the nation to adopt a countywide wage theft law!!
The Wage Theft Ordinance which is governed by Chapter 22 of the Code of Miami-Dade County and became effective on February 28, 2010, applies to private sector employees and employers. The Wage Theft Ordinance policy is to "eliminate and prevent wage theft.  Eliminating the underpayment or nonpayment of wages earned by persons working in the County serves the public purpose by promoting economic security and dignity for those working in the County; by promoting business and economic development through the elimination of unfair economic competition by unscrupulous businesses that do not pay or that underpay their employees"; and to relieve "the burden on the public that subsidize unscrupulous employers whose employees are forced to rely on public assistance because of unpaid or underpaid wages." An employer who is found to have violated the Wage Theft Ordinance by unlawfully failing to pay any portion of wages due will have to pay back-pay and liquidated damages to the employee in addition to administrative fees and hearing costs. 


For more information and assistance, contact us at (305) 375-3146.  Aggrieved employees must complete a Wage Claim Intake Form to began the process.


Wage Theft In the News



June 18, 2010 - YourPBC
"Wage Theft - Issue Details"

June 15, 2010 - Morgan Lewis, Labor and Employment Lawflash
"Miami-Dade County, Florida Refines Its Aggressive Employer Wage Theft Ordinance"

June 13, 2010 - YourPBC
"Understanding Wage Theft"

More news articles about wage theft.


Historic Measure to Combat Wage Theft in Miami-Dade County

On Thursday, we took a momentous step forward in our efforts to end Wage Theft when the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners passed by a vote of 10 to 0 a county-wide ordinance to combat this crime, making it easier for workers to bring legal action against employers who fail to pay or underpay them.

While Thursday's vote was the culmination of over a year of work by SFIWJ and the South Florida Wage Theft Task Force, it would not have been possible without you. Your calls and e-mails to our Commissioners made the difference, a difference which we hope will encourage similar actions throughout the country.

Accoding to Ted Smukler, Public Policy Director of Interfaith Worker Justice, "This victory is a spark that will help ignite a wave across the country. It is a shining example of many initiatives underway at the state and local levels to combat this crime, and demonstrates that there's widespread political will when people are made aware of the extent of the crisis."

As Fred Frost, President of the South Florida AFL-CIO and a member of the Wage Theft Task Force commented, "It's a historic day for all Miami-Dade workers, employers who play by the rules, taxpayers, our economy, and our community, setting the precedent for the nation to follow."

"This legislation will provide justice for exploited workers using a streamlined hearing examiner process, at very little cost to our county," said Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners member Natacha Seijas, the measure's principal sponsor. "I am very pleased that every colleague present today voted in favor of this Ordinance."

"Recovering back wages owed workers will put more money in the local economy, send a message to crooked employers and create a more level playing field for honest employers," read a Miami Herald editorial endorsing the ordinance, which the newspaper argued would "fill a vacuum" and "be a future deterrent." "Employers would have to pay employment and workers' compensation taxes they're now avoiding, a burden for honest employers."

And now, the real work begins. We go out to the streets and we talk to workers. We visit congregations. We educate. We involve our community in a county-wide effort to implement this historic piece of legislation. The message is clear -- thou shalt not steal. Not in our community. Not anywhere.

Thank you for being a part of this moment,
Jeanette Smith
South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice

More on the Wage Theft Ordinance





New Video:

Commissioner Natacha Seijas on the passage of Miami-Dade's Wage Theft Ordinance







February 17, 2010 - Miami Herald Editorial
"Stop the Wage Theft"


Wage theft is a national
epidemic although, until recently, it has not had a name.

Wage theft includes not being paid for overtime, being paid less than minimum wage, or not being paid what has been promised. Wage theft occurs when an employee must pay for safety equipment that should be provided or when an employee is misclassified as an independent contractor. Wage theft includes being forced to go off the clock to continue work, being forced to work through breaks, or having hours shaved off one's timecard. While the most egregious cases of wage theft may happen to undocumented workers, wage theft is not limited to only those workers. Wage theft happens in numerous industries to all types of employees. And where there is wage theft, it is highly likely that there are also health & safety violations, violations which endanger all of us.

Wage theft is the crime wave that almost no one talks about. However Interfaith Worker Justice has been leading the way nationally on this vital issue, and SFIWJ is a member of the South Florida Wage Theft Task Force, a group of local organizations working towards a local systemic solution to this heinous problem.  Expect to see this vital issue gain rapid prominence over the next few months on both a local & a national level.


"Organizing against wage theft and fasting for immigrant rights in Florida"

It may be cold outside in southern Florida, but South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice (SFIWJ) is turning up the heat with its momentous work on immigrant rights and wage theft.


Yesterday SFIWJ and members of the South Florida Wage Theft Task Force won a major victory in its efforts to pass an anti-wage-theft ordinance in Miami-Dade County. Members of the task force, including Fred Frost, President of the South Florida AFL-CIO, spoke at a public hearing of the Board of County Commissioners Government Operations Committee, where the ordinance passed by a vote of 4 to 1, which means that it advances "with a favorable recommendation" from the committee to a full County Commission meeting scheduled for February 18. Two of the commissioners who voted in favor asked to be added to the ordinance as co-sponsors.


August 10, 2009 - Immigrant Domestic Workers Win in Federal Court
Two women brought to the United States to work as nannies won a moral and financial victory in court last Friday when a jury awarded them $125,000 in back wages and other damages. The couple that hired them lost on five counts, including violations of federal labor and trafficking laws. Read More.


South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice
150 SW 13th Avenue, Miami, FL 33135

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