Stand Up for Rhode Island Workers "When employers cheat workers by failing to pay them the wages they are due, it’s theft – plain and simple." -- AG Neronha This past year, we introduced a bill to strengthen penalties for wage theft and other labor violations like employee misclassification, which is when an employer falsely treats an employee as an independent contractor in order to avoid paying benefits, overtime, taxes, Social Security Insurance, Medicare, and workers’ compensation insurance. Currently, both wage theft and employee misclassification are misdemeanor offenses. We’re also taking action. Using the Office’s sworn investigators, AG Neronha has aggressively pursued companies that deny employees hard-earned wages or attempt to cheat the system by misclassifying their workers. Portsmouth construction company owner pleads to wage theft charges; ordered to pay restitution Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Portsmouth man pleaded to misdemeanor wage theft charges in Newport County District Court and was ordered to pay over $1,500 in unpaid wages to two former employees. AG Neronha seeks to strengthen penalties for wage theft, labor violations "Wage theft not only harms employees, it also deprives Rhode Island of tax revenue, which means taxpayers also pay the price. Both wage theft and misclassification are crimes that warrant felony treatment."