Tomorrow, the San Jose Rules Committee will vote on whether to update the City’s Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance. The ordinance, which was originally enacted in 2016, excluded one of the industries most impacted by wage theft: construction. One in six California construction workers is a victim of wage theft. Since 2011, approximately 7,000 Bay Area construction workers at over 500 companies have had their wages stolen from them – and that includes only documented cases resulting in final federal administrative decisions and/or state judgements.
In the construction industry, some of the worst abuses are experienced by workers building private luxury highrises. Last year, it was discovered that construction workers building the luxurious Silvery Towers in downtown San Jose were being forced into human slavery.
The incident reignited the push to update the City’s Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance to include the construction industry. The Rules Committee, which consists of Mayor Sam Liccardo, Vice Mayor Chappie Jones, and Council Members Sylvia Arenas, Dev Davis and Johnny Khamis will vote on whether the issue of updating the ordinance goes before the entire Council for a vote.
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