82 San Diego workers filed minimum wage complaints last year

San Diego workers are not getting the pay to which they are entitled, says a study released yesterday (July 11) by the San Diego State University Department of Sociology, the Center on Policy Initiatives, and the Employee Rights Center of San Diego.

One key finding is that employers in San Diego and Imperial Counties failed to pay the minimum wage ($11.50 per hour in San Diego) 40,000 times last year, but only 82 workers filed complaints with the state Labor Commissioner. The city of San Diego has not enforced the minimum wage and has referred complaints to the state.

Analysis of the 2016 claims at the Labor Commissioner's San Diego office indicates that 71 percent of claims revolve around employers' failure to pay regular wages (including off-the-clock work and final paychecks). The survey shows that workers rarely file complaints while still on the job, and typically wait months before filing complaints. There are two major reasons for such delays: fear of retaliation and lack of information on employment law and the process for filing.

These findings are not surprising. There has always been a strained relationship between capital and labor. From the end of World War II to the mid-1970s, capital and labor struck a healthy balance and both benefited from increased productivity. But beginning in 1980, capital began to capture almost all the gains.

"So I sez to the boss, I sez…" is seldom heard these days.