MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Every year, billions of dollars are stolen from people in the United States by their employers. It's called wage theft. California is trying to help recover some of these wages, but workers there often face long delays. From member station KQED, Farida Jhabvala Romero reports.
FARIDA JHABVALA ROMERO, BYLINE: Sitting at a park in Oakland, Mirna Ayana (ph) unfolds documents from the California Labor Commissioner's Office.
(SOUNDBITE OF PAPER RUSTLING)
JHABVALA ROMERO: Her claim is for tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages.
MIRNA AYANA: (Speaking Spanish).
JHABVALA ROMERO: She says she cleaned offices during 12-hour days, six days a week.
AYANA: (Speaking Spanish).
JHABVALA ROMERO: But the small janitorial company she worked for didn't pay her for half of that or overtime. Ayana plucked up the courage to complain with the state. It took more than three years before she got a hearing to resolve her case.
AYANA: (Speaking Spanish).
JHABVALA ROMERO: In the years she waited, she says her family had to move several times. They couldn't afford the rent. Her former employer did not respond to requests for comment. State law says that hearings must be held within four months of a wage claim being filed. That's not happening. California workers waited more than two years, on average. Daniel Yu, an assistant chief at the Labor Commissioner, acknowledges the delays are unacceptable.
DANIEL YU: We want to make sure that the process works effectively and...
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says his unfounded claim that Coun. Sean Orr distributed illegal drugs didn't damage his reputation, because Orr's own previous statements showed he "supported drug use." S...