Study: Indiana Ranks Worst in U.S. for Wage Theft
INDIANAPOLIS—A new study reveals that Indiana has the highest number of wage theft violations in the country. The report, conducted by the Shirazi Law Firm, analyzed five years of data and found that the state had more than 6,500 violations for every 100,000 residents.
While Indiana led the nation in the number of violations, the study showed a significant gap in recovery. Indiana ranked just 26th in the amount of back wages paid to workers per capita.
The report’s author, Emanuel Shirazi, commented that the findings suggest varying levels of employer compliance and enforcement.
Common forms of wage theft include employers failing to pay on time, refusing overtime pay, and manipulating time clock records to avoid compensating workers for all hours worked.
The findings come as the state has recently addressed wage-related issues, with a new law regulating “earned wage access services” that allows employees to access their paychecks early.
