When an employer violates the law by underpaying their employee, it is called “wage theft.” Wage theft is the most widespread form of theft in the United States. A worker might be experiencing wage theft in any of the following scenarios:

• Your employer keeps tax money for themselves by misclassifying you as an independent contractor (by giving you Tax Form 1099) when you are actually an employee.  
• You don’t get paid for all the hours as you spend on the job.
• You don’t get paid for all the boxes you filled on the job.
• You don’t get paid for breaks that last 20 minutes or less, which should legally be paid.
• You have the right to get overtime pay, but your boss still pays you your normal rate when you work more than 40 hours in a week. 

If you know you are not making as much as your boss said you would, you have other issues with your compensation, or even if something just feels off, please contact the Pennsylvania Farmworker Project. We can help you sort through what might be going on and identify strategies to make sure you are being compensated fairly.