In the last year, the state says it has recovered $114,000 for North Country workers who were victims of wage theft.

According to a press release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, the state Task Force to Combat Worker Exploitation has recovered more than $28 million so far this Year for more than 24,000 wage theft victims across in New York.

Since its formation in July, the task force has officially launched more than 450 investigations into worker exploitation, finding more than 2,700 violations, including theft of wages, failure to protect workers with mandatory Workers’ Compensation coverage and retaliation against workers who complain about violations of the law. The cases affect more than 2,000 workers in New York State.

The cases involve:

· Failure to pay minimum wage

· Failure to pay overtime

· Tip theft

· Hazardous and unsafe working and living conditions

· Failure to protect workers with mandatory workers’ compensation

· Retaliation against workers who complain

· Failure to pay Unemployment Insurance contributions

Cases have been opened in a number of industries, including:

· Restaurants: 66 cases

· Agriculture: 20 cases

· Construction: 28 cases

· Car Wash: 17 cases

· Nail Salon: 321 cases