Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan has made the city the first to express opposition to wage theft, according to a release from the Northwest Arkansas Workers’ Justice Center.
The proclamation against the practice is non-binding, but Jordan is quoted as saying he would establish a Mayor’s Task Force on Wage Theft, assign a police officer to investigate wage crimes and create a hotline to report wage theft.
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Wage theft is intentional underpayment or nonpayment for labor. It is often employed against people in a position not to fight back — particularly immigrant workers without papers. In addition to hurting workers and families, it disadvantages competitors and steals government revenue.