The failure by an employer to pay a worker the full wages legally owed, encompassing documented practices such as paying less than the applicable minimum wage, denying legally required overtime pay, misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor to avoid wage and benefit obligations, requiring off-the-clock work, or withholding a final paycheck after termination. Labor researchers and agencies including the United States Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division have documented wage theft as a persistent form of workplace exploitation, with some studies estimating its aggregate cost to workers exceeds the total value of all reported property crime in the country, disproportionately affecting low-wage and immigrant workers who often lack the resources or legal status to pursue a claim.
Facts
Elements of OffenseFailing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. 1 Jurisdiction VariationUnited States federal FLSA: covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour and overtime after 40 hours per workweek. 2 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wage theft (Wikipedia)
Opening sentenceQuote, Opening sentence
Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law.
2. Fair Labor Standards Act (US Department of Labor)
Minimum Wage sectionQuote, Minimum Wage section
Covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.
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