Wage abuse is rampant among certain types of workers, and as one investigative news site explains, the violations often are concealed and regulators have difficulty identifying them because workers are afraid to speak up.

“Fear of retaliation is the number one reason why workers do not complain about wage theft,” Julie Su, California Labor Commissioner, said.  Because enforcing fair labor laws depends primarily on investigating complaints, “We rely on the cooperation of workers,” she said, and “don’t know who’s not coming forward as a result of fear. [But] as long as people struggle with job security, there will be fear.”

One case currently underway illustrates the issue. Karim Ameri, the owner of a Los Angeles recycling business, was under investigation for allegedly failing to pay minimum wage or overtime to employees who worked 60 hours a week. Court documents say Ameri pressured employees to lie to federal officials about his company’s pay practices, and allegedly threatened to fire or report workers to immigration authorities if they cooperated with U.S. Labor Department investigators.

One document said he even threatened physical harm, and officials got a restraining order to bar threats or interference with their investigation.

It’s illegal to punish or threaten workers to keep them from filing a wage complaint or cooperating with an investigation.

The allegations against Ameri are only one of many horror stories around the country told in the lengthy investigative piece. “[E]ven without threats,” it says, “wage violations often go unreported, either because workers don’t know their rights or believe complaining will only get them fired. If they are undocumented immigrants, as many low-wage workers are, fear of being reported to immigration authorities also keeps them silent.”

Read the whole story on FairWarning.org.