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A STUDY by the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment found that "low wage workers in Los Angeles regularly experience violations of basic laws that mandate a minimum wage and overtime pay and are frequently forced to work off the clock or during their breaks." In almost all cases, the violations rates are higher in Los Angeles than in New York and Chicago (two other cities where a similar study was conducted). Some of the key violations are as follows:
Minimum wage violations – Almost 30% of the L.A. workers surveyed were paid less than the minimum wage. This is a higher violation rate than in New York City. Of the 30%, more than half (or about 63%) were underpaid by more than $1 per hour.
Overtime violations – The L.A. workers had worked an average of 10 overtime hours during the work week. Over 79% were not paid the legally required overtime rate by their employers. Viewed as a whole, the overtime violations, like the minimum wage violations, were significant.
"Off-the-clock" violations – About 1 in 5 L.A. workers surveyed (or about 18%) worked before and/or after their regular shifts during the work week. Of this group, over 71% were not paid at all for the work they performed outside their regular shifts.
Meal Break violations – Among all L.A. workers, more than 89% worked enough consecutive hours to be legally entitled to a meal break. However, more than 80% of these workers experienced a meal break violation during the work week.
Rest Break violations – California law mandates that an employee must receive a 10-minute rest period for every 4 hours of work or two ten-minute rest break in an eight-hour shift. However, this law is often violated. More than 81% of workers eligible for rest breaks were either denied a break entirely or had a shortened break during the work week.
Pay stub violations and illegal deductions – California law requires that all workers must receive documentation of their earnings and deductions, regardless of whether they are paid in cash or by check. However, more than 63% of the surveyed workers did not receive this mandatory documentation. Additionally, employers are generally not permitted to take deductions from a worker’s pay for damage or loss, work-related tools, materials, or transportation. But more than 45% of the workers were subjected to illegal deductions from their pay.
Tipped job violations – It is illegal for employers or managers to take any portion of the tips provided by customers in restaurants or other settings where tips are customary. However, of the tipped Los Angeles workers in the sample, over 19% experienced "tip stealing" during the work week. This rate is much higher than the rates of tip stealing in New York and Chicago.
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