Santa Clara Law Professor Ruth Silver Taube J.D. ‘93 was featured on a recent episode of The California Report on NPR.
The episode, titled “How One California County Is Holding Wage Thieves Accountable,” touched on a rising issue in California: wage theft. KQED reporter Farida Jhabvala Romero commented on how thousands of low-income workers in California have been shorted on their paychecks, even when they have won claims in court. Romero also noted how one county—Santa Clara County—is working towards accountability for such employers.
Professor Silver Taube was interviewed on the role of regulation and consequences for employers who short their employees. Silver Taube—alongside other workers’ rights advocates—is a moving force behind the Food Permit Wage Theft Enforcement Program, a county initiative that aims to leverage food permits issued to aid the state in recovering money for workers cheated out of their wages. So far, the Program has recovered over $110,000 for these workers.
“I believe it’s a business model. I think they know there are no consequences, and they just don’t pay,” Silver Taube remarked on the topic of dishonest employers. “Wage theft is on everyone’s radar now, and I do believe that there’s a consensus that it’s not acceptable in this county; it’s just that we have a lot of work to do still.”
Professor Silver Taube is the supervising attorney of the Workers’ Rights practice and is an adjunct professor at Santa Clara Law. She serves as special counsel to Legal Aid at Work, is a founding member of the Bay Area Equal Pay Collaborative, and teaches the Workers’ Rights Clinic, an annual Law School course at Santa Clara Law.
