In a significant shift in labor law enforcement, states and localities across the United States are increasingly treating wage theft not merely as a civil infraction, but as a criminal offense. This trend in certain jurisdictions reflects a growing movement that the intentional denial of wages—whether through unpaid overtime, minimum wage violations, or misclassification of workers—should be prosecuted with the same seriousness as other forms of theft.

A Shift Toward Criminalization

Historically, wage and hour violations have been addressed through civil penalties, administrative fines, or private lawsuits. Enforcement agencies, such as the federal and state departments of labor, have traditionally exercised discretion in issuing civil penalties, liquidated damages, or other remedies for wage underpayments. However, a growing number of states and localities are now imposing criminal penalties for willful or repeated wage violations, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment. For example:

• Connecticut classifies wage theft as a felony when unpaid wages exceed $2,000, with fines up to $10,000 and potential imprisonment.
• Colorado and California treat intentional underpayment or withholding of wages as criminal theft.
• Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia have enacted laws that authorize imprisonment for failure to pay wages or falsification of payroll records.

Although some of these laws have long existed, there has...

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