If someone steals money from their employer, they could be guilty of a serious crime. But what if an employer takes money from their employee's paychecks?
There's a good chance they'll get away with it, a CBS News investigation found.
Whether it's paying less than minimum wage, withholding tips or pressuring staff to work off the clock, so-called wage theft siphons billions from Americans' paychecks. Through extensive data analysis and interviews with local, state and federal officials, along with victims of wage theft across the country, CBS News found the systems designed to protect those workers often fail.
CBS found that even when they win their cases, inconsistent enforcement and a patchwork of local, state and federal regulations means many victims are never paid a dime, while others are left waiting months or even years for a resolution.
Asael Espinosa spent many nights for the last 10 years on the road, delivering pizzas so people in his Chicago neighborhood can put food on their tables. But he's struggled to put food on his own family's table.
Instead of earning an hourly wage, Espinosa makes just $4 for every order he delivers. That means on slow nights without an order, he isn't paid a dime.
CBS News rode with Espinosa in late November as he made his deliveries.
"In the course of almost an hour, I have only made two deliveries," Espinosa said. "That's $8. So, if you think about it, I may not even be earning minimum wage."
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