美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: Californians are waiting for their wage theft claims to be investigated

Encore: Californians are waiting for their wage theft claims to be investigated

Transcript¹

More than 36,000 people say their employers cheated them out of pay. The state agency tasked with probing their cases is backlogged² and underfunded. (Story first aired on ATC on June 21, 2022.)

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Around 35,000 Californians are waiting for their wage theft claims to be investigated

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

People across the U.S. have billions of dollars stolen from them each year by their employers. It's called wage theft. California's working on a plan to help, but workers often face long delays when it comes to recovering some of the money. From member station KQED, Farida Jhabvala Romero reports.

FARIDA JHABVALA ROMERO, BYLINE³: Sitting at a park in Oakland, Mirna Ayana (ph) unfolds documents from the California Labor⁴ Commissioner⁵'s Office.

(SOUNDBITE OF PAPER RUSTLING)

JHABVALA ROMERO: Her claim is for tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid⁶ wages.

MIRNA AYANA: (Speaking Spanish).

JHABVALA ROMERO: She says she cleaned offices during 12-hour days, six days a week.

AYANA: (Speaking Spanish).

JHABVALA ROMERO: But the small janitorial⁷ company she worked for didn't pay her for half of that or overtime⁸. Ayana plucked up the courage to complain with the state. It took more than three years before she got a hearing to resolve her case.

AYANA: (Speaking Spanish).

JHABVALA ROMERO: In the years she waited, she says her family had to move several times. They couldn't afford the rent. Her former employer did not respond to requests for comment. State law says that hearings must be held within four months of a wage claim being filed. That's not happening. California workers waited more than two years, on average. Daniel Yu, an assistant chief at the Labor Commissioner, acknowledges the delays are unacceptable.

DANIEL YU: We want to make sure that the process works effectively and efficiently⁹ so that the workers...

JHABVALA ROMERO: When the pandemic started, the Labor Commissioner halted in-person hearings. Now they're trying to catch up, but they have a shortage of staff.

YU: The hiring of our hearing officers remains¹⁰ a top priority.

JHABVALA ROMERO: California has more than 35,000 pending¹¹ wage claims. Nearly half have been languishing¹² a year or longer, without a resolution. Veronica Chavez is a workers' rights attorney with Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland. She says these delays hurt vulnerable workers.

VERONICA CHAVEZ: This almost encourages employers to continue exploiting, you know? The chances of there being repercussions¹³ seem to be very long, far down the line.

JHABVALA ROMERO: Labor enforcement agencies across the country are struggling with backlogs¹⁴ and understaffing, says Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies at Rutgers University.

JANICE FINE: It's a very problematic system as it exists right now because there are many things about it that are not as effective as they need to be.

JHABVALA ROMERO: Back at the playground in Oakland...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (Speaking Spanish).

JHABVALA ROMERO: Mirna Ayana tells her 3-year-old son it's time to go home.

AYANA: (Speaking Spanish).

JHABVALA ROMERO: She finally got her hearing. It seemed like good news when the Labor Commissioner ruled that her old boss owes her nearly $183,000 in back wages and penalties. But by then, the company had filed for bankruptcy¹⁵, she says.

AYANA: (Speaking Spanish).

JHABVALA ROMERO: She says her employer still owes her what she earned, but she doesn't know when - or if - she'll see any of that money.

For NPR News, I'm Farida Jhabvala Romero.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 backlogged   

（使）积压( backlog的过去式和过去分词 )； 储存； （为日后装运而）登账确认（订货）

参考例句：

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

7 janitorial   

adj.管理的(janitor的变形)

参考例句：

• Besides attending class, you will help our janitorial staff after school. 除了正常上课以外，下课后你得帮助学校的工人做做义工。 来自电影对白
• The accommodation will be cleaned 2-3 times every week by janitorial staff. 宿舍每星期更换2~3次备品，并有清洁人员清扫宿舍环境。 来自互联网

8 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

9 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

12 languishing   

a. 衰弱下去的

参考例句：

• He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
• How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子，她还将为此烦恼多久呢？

13 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 backlogs   

积压未办之事( backlog的名词复数 )； 没交付的订货； 备用； 备用物

参考例句：

• "You'll need kindling and medium wood and logs and backlogs. “点火柴、引火柴、原木、垫底的，你都用得着。” 来自名作英译部分
• Our manufacturers have heavy backlogs on their hands. 我们的生产厂商手头有许多积压而没有交付的订单。

15 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。