Social Sustainability
Wage Theft
Definition
Wage theft is the failure to pay workers what they are legally or contractually owed: paying below minimum wage, denying overtime premiums, forcing off-the-clock work, making illegal deductions, withholding final pay, or misclassifying employees to evade entitlements. Studies in the US alone estimate tens of billions of dollars stolen annually — more than all robberies combined — and in global supply chains, wage theft (withheld pay, deduction abuse) is a documented path into debt bondage and forced labour.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Wage Theft” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures labour inspection priorities, supply chain audit protocols (wage verification), living wage campaigns, and remediation programmes in sourcing.
Why it matters
Before any conversation about living wages comes a simpler one: paying wages already earned. Wage theft is where that conversation starts.