Ruth Silver Taube, Supervising Attorney of the Workers’ Rights Clinic of the Alexander Community Law Center and Adjunct Professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, will be accepting the Beacon of Light Award from the Immigrant Resources and Integration Services (IRIS) of the Santa Clara County Office of Human Relations. The award recognizes her advocacy regarding labor rights of immigrants, and she will receive it on behalf of the Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition she established. The Wage Theft Coalition, which consists of diverse, community based organizations and advocates, held its first meeting at the Alexander Community Law Center in December, 2013. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, February 11, from 1:15 to 1:45 PM at the Sobrato Center, 1400 Parkmoor Avenue, in San Jose.
Silver Taube is familiar with the devastating effects of wage theft which she sees firsthand in her clients. Faced with lower take-home pay or no take-home pay at all, they must make difficult choices. Wage theft leads to food insecurity and unstable housing situations. It affects workers, their families, their communities, and responsible businesses.
“I became frustrated by the number of clients we see at the Law Center’s Workers’ Rights clinics with unpaid wage theft judgments and disgusted by the culture of noncompliance. As a result, I approached 16 diverse, community based organizations and formed the Wage Theft Coalition with the goal of enacting anti-wage theft policies at the city and county level and taking direct action to end wage theft,” said Silver Taube.
Wage theft occurs when a worker is paid less than minimum wage, is not paid overtime, is paid only in tips, or works off the clock. It is a national epidemic affecting workers in industries that span the economy. Despite the economic success of Silicon Valley, wage theft is rampant in Santa Clara County. In fact, the wage theft epidemic is worse in Santa Clara County than in other regions of the state. The San Jose Office of the California Labor Commissioner handles approximately 300 enforcement claims from workers in the County each month. From 2012-2013, the almost 2,000 workers who filed claims with this office were awarded $8.4 million in owed wages. Of the $8.4 million awarded, workers were able to collect only $2.8 million according to a report that Silver Taube recently co-authored to document the effects of wage theft on individuals, families, and communities across Santa Clara County.
As a result of Silver Taube’s leadership and the effective advocacy of the Wage Theft Coalition members, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has enacted legislation to require bidders on County contracts to disclose wage theft judgments and to provide proof that they have satisfied the judgments. The aim of the legislation is to prevent wage theft violators from obtaining contracts until they pay the wage theft judgments. On February 10, 2015, the County Board of Supervisors will be voting on similar language to be included in contracts awarded to successful bidders. The Coalition also seeks legislation that will suspend licenses and permits until unpaid wage theft judgments are paid. The Coalition plans to advocate for similar measures in other cities in Santa Clara County. It is currently working to enact anti-wage theft policies in the City of San Jose and Sunnyvale.
