A new unit within the Michigan Attorney General’s Office will crack down on companies committing payroll fraud.
Attorney General Dana Nessel and a group of lawmakers announced the new effort.
“Payroll fraud affects all of us, especially the families who are robbed. When shady businesses exploit people by cheating them of the wages they are owed, families have less money in their pockets, zero benefits, and an uncertain future,” Nessel said.
Businesses stole about $429 million in wages and overtime pay from Michigan workers between 2013 and 2015. Payroll fraud effects more than 2.8 million workers according research by the Economic Policy Institute.
Taxpayers lost $107 million in revenue through business tax fraud that misclassified workers by reporting them as self-employed independent contractors or paying them under the table.
