Not paying employees for work they have done is called wage theft and it’s against the law. Consumer Investigator Myriam Masihy shows us how the process works and what you can do if this happens to you.
When Hector Blanco went to work at Radio Libre 790, a South Florida radio station owned by Americano Media, the company called itself the conservative voice of Spanish-language media.
CEO Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo, a Republican strategist, spoke to several outlets promoting his vision.
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“Jobs and the economy are number one and I think it's what's going to be driving all voters this November”, he told the CW7 in Arizona in August of 2022.
Jobs are top of mind for Hector Blanco who says he had a part-time gig as a board operator for Americano Media from January through July of 2023. He says he saw irregularities from the beginning, like late payments, but says he needed the job and liked the work, so he stayed there until the problems got worse.
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“They didn’t pay me for the last three months of work”, he says, adding that Americano Media owes him more than $5,000.
Americano Media stopped operating in its Miami offices last year after reports surfaced that it allegedly stopped paying employees because it ran out of money and Garcia-Hidalgo was unable to reach an agreement with a potential buyer to continue operating.
In June, when NBC6 asked Garcia-Hidalgo’s representatives about Hector’s case and other employees who sued Americano Media demanding lost wages, they promised that, in just weeks, he would make an important announcement. But two months went by and the announcement never came.
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At the beginning of August Garcia-Hidalgo’s representative said: “we understand that employees faced difficult burdens due to the financial predicament of americano…everyone, including Ivan (Garcia-Hidalgo), regrets how challenging the past several months have been on everyone involved. We expect to be able to announce our new plans in detail, including financial matters, within a couple of weeks.”
Miami-Dade’s Consumer Protection Division received Hector Blanco’s complaint regarding Americano Media. The agency enforces the county’s wage theft ordinance.
“Our ordinance is limited to wage thefts that are claimed over $60 and no more than $15,000. They're limited to work that was performed in Miami-Dade County. The work must have been done within a year, and it must be employees and not contractors,” says Ingrid Castillo, the county’s Consumer Advocate.
Consumers must fill out a detailed affidavit that serves as a sworn statement and include documents that show they were employed by a company or individual, like W-2’s, paystubs, timesheets, or a contract. County analysts then review those documents and reach out to the employer.
In Hector’s case, while he filed the complaint within a year of when the alleged wage theft happened, the agency says he didn’t provide them the supporting documentation on time and his complaint will be dismissed due to the statute of limitations. He’s now hoping Americano Media decides to do the right thing and pay him and the other employees if they get new investors.
If you’ve worked, haven’t been paid and want to file a wage theft complaint with Miami-Dade’s Consumer Protection Division visit their page: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser146799265229380
You can also contact the U.S. Department of Labor and file a complaint here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints.
