A bipartisan group of lawmakers is coming together to help low-wage workers.
When employers stiff their employees in Virginia, many low-wage workers have no way to collect damages. In Maryland they could get triple damages, and in DC they can get quadruple damages. But in Virginia they can just get the money they are owed, nothing more. That’s the situation lawmakers are trying to fix.
“This is a poor man’s bill.”
That’s Ronnie Campbell, a Republican from Southwest Virginia.
“This is the guy that works all week hanging drywall, and at the end of the week his subcontractor boss looks at him and says well I don’t need you next week. You leave. And he doesn’t pay him.”
Delegate Paul Krizek is a Democrat from Fairfax County who is also concerned about this low-wage worker struggling to get the money he’s owed.
“And so what is his recourse? He could get a lawyer to go recover that money. But a lawyer is going to charge more than the $200 or $300 that he would recover.”
Krizek and Campbell both have bills that would allow for triple damages and lawyers fees. Business groups are lined up against the bill, calling it a bonanza for lawyers.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
