Study: Asian American Low-Wage Workers Often Cheated of their Wages

A recent study of low-wage workers indicated how a large percentage of them are routinely cheated out of mandated pay. Based on over 4000 worker surveys in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, the study found that these low-wage workers, many of them Asian, were exploited in a number of ways. These include working off-the-clock, earning less than the minimum wage, not being paid overtime, lack of meal breaks, falsified records, and retaliation for speaking up for their rights.

Of the racial groups – Black, Latino, White and Asian, Asian American low-wage workers were the most likely to have to work off the clock (81%) and to not have meal breaks (68%). They were second to Whites in overtime violations (78%). They were less likely to have minimum wage violations (15%). Only whites had less.

The authors estimated that fifteen percent of workers in the three cities are low-wage. Seventy percent of the low-wage workers were immigrant. They worked in a range of industries and occupations. Largely in the service sector, the industries included   restaurants, retail stores, and home health care but also construction, manufacturing, warehousing and transportation. Over 700 Asian American low-wage workers were surveyed.  

Small businesses are more likely to commit violations than larger businesses.

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and YKASEC – Empowering the Korean American Community were among the groups advising the study.

The full report is attached.