The two candidates for Iowa Attorney General disagree on what level of government is responsible for prosecuting those responsible for wage theft.
Democrat Nate Willems, an attorney from Mount Vernon, has privately represented thousands of workers and recovered millions. “Representating hospital workers in Iowa City who were paid systematically, illegally late,” said Willems, citing one of the cases he won. “There was no federal law violation there. It was purely state law, so there’s a huge role for state government under state law to take on a $900 million a year problem.”
Willems has pledged to open a wage theft enforcement division in the attorney general’s office if he’s elected, to encourage Iowans to report allegations of withheld pay or misclassification of their roles by an employer in order to avoid higher pay.
Brenna Bird, a Republican who was elected Iowa Attorney General in 2022, is seeking re-election. She said it’s up to federal officials to police wage theft. “I certainly support workers getting paid and being paid fairly,” Bird said. “Primarily the goal of the attorney general’s office is to help in several areas. One is helping prosecute rapists, murderers and child sex offenders.”
Bird said the Iowa Department of Justice already is “quite a large office” that’s responsible for representing the state in litigation and prosecuting consumer fraud, including online scams.
Bird and Willems made their comments at the Iowa State Fair, after appearances on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox.