Dive Brief:
- Five Chicago area staffing agencies have successfully defended Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims, alleging that they worked together to keep some of their workers' wages, Law360 reports. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the claims Sept. 6.
- According to the Chicago Tribune, the companies were accused of taking advantage of workers' lack of transportation. They allegedly established a scheme in which drivers recruit workers and transport them for $8 per day. The employees said a driver picks up their paychecks from the staffing agencies and takes them to the currency exchanges, which deduct the driver's fee and also charge a check-cashing fee.
- The lawsuit alleged that six staffing agencies were involved, and that the practice violated not only state law but also the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as the deductions cause workers' pay to drop below the minimum wage. The court's order did not dismiss all of the claims.
Dive Insight:
In a tight candidate market, with record-high demand for temporary workers reported this year, the pressure is on. And there's no sign of it letting up soon, either: Demand for such workers is only expected to rise.
Still, employers must exercise caution. The FLSA, for example, limits the types of deductions employers can make from workers' paychecks, and employees must be paid at least minimum wage, plus any applicable overtime.
And, while undocumented workers — like the employee interviewed by the Tribune — may be less likely to speak up about such violations, they're still entitled to back pay and damages under the FLSA, the U.S. Department of Labor, and some courts, have said.
Finally, employment law attorneys have been warning employers about increased Form I-9 scrutiny, a major concern for those who may employ undocumented workers. "[E]mployers have the obligation to properly and carefully complete I-9 forms and review documents," Angel Feng of Mintz Levin wrote in a blog post for the firm. "Training personnel who complete and conduct I-9 verifications is critical to remaining compliant, as well as periodically conducting audits. Enforcement activities will continue to be a major focus of ICE during the Trump administration."