Wage Theft as a Neglected Public Health Problem: An Overview and Case Study from San Francisco’s Chinatown District

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bhatia R ; Chang C ; Gaydos M ; Krause N ; Lee PT ; Liu SS ; Minkler M ; Salvatore AL ; Tom A
• Description:
  Wage theft, or nonpayment of wages to which workers are legally entitled, is a major contributor to low income, which in turn has adverse health effects. We describe a participatory research study of wage theft among immigrant Chinatown restaurant workers. We conducted surveys of 433 workers, and developed and used a health department observational tool in 106 restaurants. Close to 60% of workers reported 1 or more forms of wage theft (e.g., receiving less than minimum wage [50%], no overtime pay [>65%], and pay deductions when sick [42%]). Almost two thirds of restaurants lacked required minimum wage law signage. We discuss the dissemination and use of findings to help secure and enforce a wage theft ordinance, along with implications for practice. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Economics Emigration And Immigration Food Handling Food Industry Healthcare Disparities Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Food Services Health Disparities Health Effects Immigrant Workers Information Dissemination
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  104
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055784
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2014 Jun; 104(6):1010-1020
• Contact Point Address:
  Meredith Minkler, DrPH, MPH, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360
• Email:
  mink@berkeley.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:16eb7aa8bc4b6077b3b0dfbb781403e5c9944376fbd32c7478f9b8589a466fd647dacc76c131c2641eb510d7243aedb6a4d87806a4dfbed939ee1ff468a7516a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213556/cdc_213556_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 547.05 KB ]