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Wisconsin AG seeks to stop Elon Musk's $1M payments at rally giveaway; Rural advocates urge CA lawmakers to safeguard banking protections; Federal, state job cuts threaten FL workers' rights, services; Alabama counties lack high-speed internet and health access.

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President Trump says there are ways for him to take a third term. New tariffs are scheduled for this week, but economists say they'll hurt buying power. And advocates say the Trans Day of Visibility is made more important by state legislation.

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Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.

Study: Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft

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Friday, February 7, 2025   

Virginia ranks third behind only Maryland and Delaware among the worst states for the average amount of back wages companies owe to their workers. Virginia employers owe an average of more than $1,600 to nearly 3,500 employees.

A report from the financial training website Goat Academy analyzing federal data found since 2021, nearly 4,800 wage theft violations have occurred.

Paul Falabella, attorney and past president of the Virginia Employment Lawyers Association, said wage theft laws were passed only recently in the Commonwealth. He pointed out a lack of oversight combined with a construction boom may have contributed to Virginia's wage theft problem.

"Virginia had no state law on wage theft and didn't have the ability for workers to sue directly," Falabella noted. "Workers had to go to either the federal or the state Department of Labor."

It changed in July 2020, when the Virginia Wage Payment Act went into effect. The law gave workers the right to sue their employers in court for wage theft, which previously was impossible.

Falabella added more resources at the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry would help address wage theft issues. But he acknowledged labor law enforcement depends on who is leading the Commonwealth.

"The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has been underfunded for a long, long time," Falabella asserted. "It's a little better now, but it depends on who's in charge, who's in the governor's office, how robust that enforcement might be, how much attention they're going to focus on workers' rights."

The report, which analyzed U.S. Department of Labor data, found in total, more than $128 million in back wages are owed to U.S. workers.


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