LANSING — House and Senate Democrats unveiled a plan today to crack down on companies committing payroll fraud, increasing penalties for bad actors while strengthening oversight to protect businesses playing by the rules. Unscrupulous companies stole an estimated $429 million in wages and overtime pay from hardworking Michiganders between 2013 and 2015, impacting more than 2.8 million workers. In addition to the impact on individual workers, payroll fraud costs Michigan taxpayers $107 million a year in tax revenue. In response, state Rep. Kristy Pagan (D-Canton) issued the following statement:
“In order to combat the actions of bad actors that swindle Michiganders out of their hard-earned paychecks, we must call this what it is: theft. These companies are not only stealing from their employees, they’re also defrauding our state by failing to pay millions of dollars in taxes that could have been used to fix our roads, fund our schools and protect our environment. I look forward to continuing this fight for our hardworking community members and honest businesses with my colleagues at the Capitol.”
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