Vistage speaker Hunter Lott offers great insights to our members on employment law issues. In one of his recent “Take 5 with Hunter Lott” videos, he warns CEOs of how easy it is to be unintentionally guilty of “wage theft.” Simply put, Mr. Lott shares that “wage theft occurs when an employer fails to provide the full compensation or benefits owed to an employee is guaranteed by either contract or law.”
He shows how easy it is to unintentionally do this… and that there are numerous instances when an employer may withhold part or all of a paycheck intentionally, thinking the company is within its rights but is not, and having intentionally done so may be subject to criminal penalties and even personal liabilities.
Uber found this out the hard way and the Attorney General of New York extracted $290 million in taxes and fees (here’s the detail of that case). Mr. Lott stresses this just isn’t the Federal Waga and Hour folks, but state attorneys general bringing these suits which can be criminal (i.e. personal) in nature.
Mr Lott offers the big picture and a helpful preventive checklist in his post on “Wage Theft”
