Comments about ‘Workers fight for unpaid wages’

A recession is no excuse for a pattern of deceit. Thanks to Lee Davidson and the Deseret News for bringing this ugly situation to light.

Thanks for writing this article. It's sad the way so many employers treat their employees.

This isn't just a result of the recession. This happened to me years and years ago and I NEVER got paid. So, welcome to America!

This happened to a friend of mine. Don't know if it was the same company, but he hired on with a security place in SL and his checks always bounced. He had been without work for a year. Luckily, he was rehired at his old job shortly after starting with the security firm.

All of this sounds so reminiscent of what corporate America and business’ did to the American workers during the recession of the 1980’s. Except now it involves some of the illegally imported scab workers from Mexico that companies used to oust American workers from our jobs to help the economy to recover and companies to weather the economic storm.

The Department of Labor rules in favor of business in 95 % of all cases. You better have a good lawyer if you plan to go against the D of L. They favor business

Why is it if an individual does this, they get charged with a crime. I know, when I was in college a check I wrote to Davis county for speeding bounced, and I got a visit from a very lovely Provo officer.

But if a company does this, well then, in Utah that is no problem. Can't do anything to hurt jobs and business.

On my story, it was quit funny, but when Provo called Davis County to tell them they found me, they just told the Provo Police they had too much time on their hands and ordered me released. I then replaced the check.... with a good one. I guess I should have been Me Inc. and then it would have been ok.

It's shenanigans like this that foster a labor union friendly environment If businesses tolerate this kind of worker abuse then the entire economy will have to deal with the ugly and inefficient union head that comes when people don't feel like they've been treated right.

The last thing the struggling economy needs is a union revival. That will send us back decades and make us even less competitive abroad.

Thirty years of observing the Utah scene from different perspectives only serves to reinforce its negative reputation both for scams and also for abusive employers who exploit their workers with the “I have 250 people at Job Service who would jump at the chance of being here” kind of attitude.

Some of the most unethical, dishonest bunch of crooks masquerading as employers I’ve seen have been in Utah. Terroristic tactics are used to keep the masses in line, such as church affiliation, ‘guilt trips’ and bullying employees into submission, such as threatening to ‘trash talk’ an employee to their church leader, etc. Creep mentalities such as these do the employers and their belief systems a major disservice and are a human affront to all decent behavior.

I consider myself blessed to live in a state that abides by rules of ethics and honor more closely, and where abuses of labor law are taken more seriously, than in say, Utah, where there seems to be little or no importance attached to illegal or unethical activity by corrupt employers.

Tim Rollins
Oklahoma City

This is happening all over the state, and not just by large employers. I know several people who are consistently taken advantage of by their employers, with checks taking 3-5 months to come in, if at all. It's dirty business, but in most cases the employer uses some form of authority to abuse their workers (e.g., threatening to fire the employee or, if they're illegal, to call ICE).

@Tim Rollins
I seriously doubt this is exclusive to Utah only, and I'm betting that it's happened all across the country. Just because you haven't heard about it in the Oklahoma media, doesn't mean that it's not happening.

The problem goes beyond wage deprivation too. There are so many companies that hide behind statements like "well at least you've still got a job" or "would you prefer to be laid off?" I think most employees understand that a difficult economy means there are going to be cutbacks, but so many companies use it as an excuse to raise expectations without rewarding those employees who have worked extra hard. I think when times are difficult, a little extra encouragement, or small acts of appreciation go so much further...

Wow. A whole group of people who have it worse than the Deseret News employees who got laid off. The timing of this story is just so ironic.

@Shawnm750: Oklahoma has some of these problems on occasion as well. However, with the passage of HB1804 (the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007), it also forbids the state of Oklahoma from providing education, health care and many other services to illegal immigrants, including infants, and requires police to check the immigration status of anyone "suspected" of being in this country illegally.

What this does is protect the state and the illegals themselves from exploitation by the unscrupulous and unethical. More states would do well to follow Oklahoma's example.

Tim Rollins
Oklahoma City

$10.50 an Hour is good pay for a Guard.

Unpaid wages or this?. Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, as well as a happy Unemployment Day that is heading in the wrong direction, creeping up to 9.6%, further demonstrating that Obama's tax and spend and spend and spend plan has not worked. The President's approval rating is tanking as a result all in all, just another garbage month of Obamanomics. But don't worry, Dems Running Scared From Obama and Pelosi right now. It's going to be a good Unemployment Day Weekend for ya'll. The most compelling evidence for the President to take a new direction is his "jobs gap" which surpassed one-million in August. According to the St. Petersburg Times the American economy needs to create 292,000 jobs a month beginning in February 2010 to reach 5% unemployment by 2015. Today, the Obama jobs gap has widened to 1.3 million jobs. Unemployment Day weekend will mark the official end of the Obama administration's "Recovery Summer". 14.9 million Americans are unemployed. 6.2 million people have been out of work for more than six months. And, over 450,000 people are filing unemployment claims each month.

Tim Rollins--

"...requires police to check the immigration status of anyone "suspected" of being in this country illegally. "

Wow. Isn't this what the federal government is suing Arizona over? And not a word from anyone about such blatantly abusive and bigoted law on the books in Okiehoma?

@Brighams Brother. Are you serious about unions being bad for this country? Unions are the only thing keeping workers in this country from being treated like chinese workers.

I am member of a union and a contractor did not pay me. He kept on saying the check is in the mail. Well I gave he him three days and then I went into my union hall. I had my money within one hour.

Some major corporations get rid of senior employees, by selective enforcement of ever changing rules. Different employees are have different standards, with some unable to do wrong, while others are terminated for doing the same things. This allows the corporation to replace higher paid employees, with employees that are paid less, and the corporation is given tax incentives to train the new employees. This leaves the terminated employees without a job, but still paying taxes, that reward the corporation for wrongfully terminating them.

It is not only pay but also respect for the employee. Companies and their management during a recession know that there is a large pool of people out looking for a job and they don't often value whom they have working for them.

Oklahoma put safeguards into the law so that if the Feds stick their nose in and try their 'that's unconstitutional' line and once again violate our sovereign state rights, the built-in redundancies within the law still allow for the law to be fully and fairly enforced.

Tim Rollins
Oklahoma City

A criminal may go to prison for life for stealing 77 cents. These companies steal thousands and do it deliberately. Where is the Attorney General with criminal prosecution?