A recently released report by the Iowa Policy Project revealed a growing wage theft problem in the state. In total, the findings revealed employees are losing an estimated $600 million every year in pay, while the state loses out on $60 million, according to Colin Gordon, IPP senior research consultant and one of the report's authors.

"Workers' hard-earned wages are being stolen, the state is losing revenues, and good businesses are being put at a market disadvantage against shifty competitors," Gordon added.

Wage theft that take place in a number of ways - employers fail to pay workers the minimum pay rate for all hours worked, denied overtime wages, deducting costs from employees' paychecks, misclassifying positions or doctoring payroll records to issue less remuneration. No matter the form, the Department of Labor is actively on the lookout for these types of violations.

In low-wage professions, especially, the department's Wage and Hour Division investigates employers who may not be paying workers correctly. Where Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations are found, the division can demand back wages for workers and issue penalties for noncompliance. 

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