Wage theft can mean many different things. There are cases where employers garnish their workers’ wages…take a little off the top. Sometimes workers are told not to clock in until after their shift starts. The most egregious is when employers don’t pay their workers minimum wage or overtime.

Seventy-seven percent of restaurant workers in New York City don’t get paid overtime wages, according to a study by the National Employment Law Project  Undocumented women are hurt the most. Almost half don’t get paid the minimum wage, and 90% report not getting paid over time.

This is the story of two Latina New Yorkers fighting to get the money they are owed.

Camilo Vargas contributed reporting for this piece.

Note: Maria Hinojosa introduces this report by saying working more than 8 hours per day is illegal. This assumes a five day work week, adding up to 40 hours per week.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons