As it says on the tin, this legislation would allow courts to order the defendant in a wage theft case to pay the legal expenses of the plaintiff in the event the employer is found to have withheld earned wages from an employee. One study from 2009 estimates as much as $60 billion is stolen every year by employers who withhold earned wages from their employees (
Source). At present, however, the prohibitive expense of pursuing legal resolution leaves workers in a position where they simply cannot afford to claim their earned wages. This bill seeks to address this issue by lifting the financial burden of reclaiming stolen wages.