MARIA A. DIGEORGE
Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit
“Many Philadelphians are being criminally exploited in their places of work, and do not realize there is anything they can do. Wage theft, misclassification, labor trafficking, and related acts are not only morally wrong, they are also violations of the laws of our Commonwealth. As such, reports of labor crimes require investigation and, potentially, criminal prosecution. If found guilty, perpetrators must face the same consequences as any other person convicted of a crime. The Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit is committed to protecting victims and holding perpetrators accountable. We have collaborated with other enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations to provide a safe space for victims to come forward.”
About the Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has established a Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit to protect the rights of workers against abusive employers who engage in wage theft, misclassification, labor trafficking, intimidation, and related crimes.
Assistant District Attorney Maria A. DiGeorge has been assigned to the Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit. Maria has a background in workers’ rights and experience prosecuting sensitive cases involving domestic violence and child abuse.
To report a possible crime, please call the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office at 215-686-9902 or complete the form below:
Wage Theft is a Crime!
Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act of 1968i requires employers to pay a minimum wage of $7.25/hour for all hours worked (with some exceptions for commissioned payments, tipped employees, farm labor, training and professionals and executives). The law requires that hours worked in excess of 40 in a work week be paid at 1 ½ times the regular rate of pay. Every employer shall furnish to each employee a statement with every payment of wages, listing hours worked, rates paid, gross wages, allowances, deductions and net wages. The law provides for possible jail time and fines for employers who commit these crimes and also provides for the recovery of the lost wages to the victim. It is estimated that, in any given work week, almost 400,000 Pennsylvanians experience a minimum wage violation and 300,000 Pennsylvanians experience an overtime violation. This amounts to a loss of between $19-32 million in wages every week.ii
Misclassification is a Crime!
Misclassification is when an employer calls their worker an “independent contractor” and gives them a 1099 or pays them in cash (with no taxes taken out) instead of a W-2 (with taxes taken out) even though the worker is really an employee. If you get a 1099 or cash but you work under the direction and control of a supervisor/manager/boss, you are most likely a misclassified employee. Not being covered by Workers Compensation, Unemployment Compensation or Social Security can have life-altering effects on the misclassified employee and their family. Often wage theft is part of this equation.
Employers of misclassified workers face criminal prosecution, administrative fines up to $2,500 dollars per violation and a court-issued stop work order.
It is estimated that 259,000 Pennsylvania workers are misclassified, resulting in an annual loss of $383,000 to the Uninsured Employers Guarantee Fund, $91 million to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, $6.4 – 124 million to the General Fund, and $153 million to the misclassified employee who suffers injury or illness at work without Workers’ Compensation Insurance. It is further estimated that, each year, 10,892 Pennsylvania workers suffer injury or illness at work and are denied Workers’ Compensation.iii
Human Trafficking is a Crime!
Employers who engage in human trafficking, whether of labor, sex, or both, are subject to criminal felony prosecution. Labor trafficking is defined as when a person “recruits, entices, solicits, advertises, harbors, transports, provides, obtains or maintains an individual if the person knows or recklessly disregards that the individual will be subject to labor servitude.”iv An employer may commit the related crime of Involuntary Servitude in multiple ways, including by “using any scheme, plan or pattern intended to cause the individual to believe that, if the individual does not perform the labor, services, acts or performances, that individual or another individual will suffer serious harm or physical restraint.”v Another oft-related crime is when a trafficker withholds their victim’s passport, immigration document, or government identification in order to prevent them from leaving.vi Human trafficking is modern day slavery and is especially egregious when it involves minors. Pennsylvania ranks ninth in the nation for the number of new human trafficking cases reported,vii with Philadelphia making up six percent of trafficking offenses filed.viii
Immigrant Protection
Often times the most vulnerable among us, the undocumented worker, is the victim of these abuses. If you are an undocumented immigrant participating as a witness in a criminal case, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office may be able to offer support to protect your status in the U.S.
i 43 Pa.C.S. § 333.104
ii https://law.temple.edu/csj/publication/shortchanged-how-wage-theft-harms-pennsylvanias-workers-and-economy/
iii https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management-Relations/llc/Documents/Act-85-Annual-Report-2022.pdf
iv 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3011.
v 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3012.
vi 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3014.
vii https://www.wtae.com/article/pittsburgh-human-trafficking-pennsylvania/60748117#:~:text=International%20Labor%20Organization.-,In%20the%20most%20recent%20federal%20human%20trafficking%20report%2C%20Pennsylvania%20ranks,the%20number%20of%20new%20cases
viii https://www.pacourts.us/news-and-statistics/news/news-detail/1163/human-trafficking-offenses-decrease-in-penn