http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/03/national/main699392.shtmlThis week Ansoumana Faty, a former grocery deliveryman in New York City, will pick up a paycheck for $7,000. Meanwhile, in upstate New York, the waiters and waitresses at the New Delhi Diamond's Restaurant in Ithaca will share a cash payout of $10,000.
They are among hundreds of people in New York who are getting reimbursed back wages and unpaid overtime as a result of recent legal settlements. Many of the employees were paid as little as $2 an hour, in jobs they worked for 10 to 12 hours a day.
Across the country, a growing number of states, advocacy groups - and even individual workers - are fighting back against wage abuses in the workplace.
From New York to California, several state attorneys general are targeting violations of state and federal minimum-wage and overtime laws. One reason: State authorities believe the infractions are growing as the economy becomes more service-oriented - and are showing up in new industries.