Wage Theft ‘Rampant’ in State
10% of construction workers bilked of $23,500 per year on average. Will Legislature address problem? By Bruce Murphy - Jan 20th, 2021 11:49 am //end headline wrapper ?>Construction. File photo by Jack Fennimore.
A new study finds that wage theft is a huge problem in the Wisconsin construction industry. It estimates that 10% of the state’s construction workforce, some 14,500 workers, are either misclassified or paid off the books. accounting for 10 percent of the workforce. As a result, they earn 31 percent less ($23,500 annually) in combined wages and fringe benefits than they should.
The study by the Midwest Economic Policy Institute also looked at Illinois and Minnesota, and found the problem was comparable or worse with construction workers earning 36% less in Minnesota and 29% less in Illinois due to wage theft.