In fall 2014, during our listening process, CAJM members expressed anger about illegal wage practices in Charleston County. Our research revealed that Charleston County residents and employees have their wages stolen or withheld in many ways. We learned that the process for recovering stolen wages was arduous, confusing and largely ineffective.
At our annual Action Assembly on April 27, 2015, nearly 2,000 CAJM members gathered and gained commitments from Charleston County Council Members to propose the allocation of funding to SC Legal Services for the implementation of a Charleston Wage Recovery Program. This program will provide legal aid and advocacy to help the worker recover stolen wages more quickly.
Over the past eleven months, the program has served over sixty families and recovered thousands of dollars, preventing evictions and unpaid bills.
As of November 2016, Charleston County Council has refused to continue funding the program. We will continue to push for it to be placed in a protected area of the budget so it can obtain the permanent funding source the workers in our community deserve.