This photo essay documents the toll of the fight for workers who have made wage theft claims in California.

Unpaid overtime. Working through meal breaks. Stolen tips. Being told to show up to work at one time but not clock in until an hour later.

For decades California has tried to crack down on wage theft, the failure of employers to pay their workers what they’re legally owed.

It’s a problem that mostly affects the state’s most vulnerable workers — those earning low wages, who often are immigrants and people of color.

Experts say these vulnerable workers often don’t report wage violations to the government, making it hard to measure the true scale of the problem in California. In 2021, about 19,000 workers filed unpaid wage claims in the state for a total of more than $330 million. A state report estimates the average worker claims about $10,000.

The state’s labor agency has dedicated resources to issue civil citations to businesses for wage theft in industries such as restaurants, construction, janitorial services, car washes and residential care. Worker advocates praise California officials for their attention to wage theft. California, many advocates and business groups say, has some of the nation’s toughest labor laws, and the labor department that enforces them is one of the few in the country that proactively investigates workplaces for potential violations.

If the state proves an employer intentionally stiffed a worker of more than $900, the wage theft becomes a...

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