Protecting Your Paycheck
Nate Willems' plan to crack down on wage theft, hold greedy corporations accountable, and make sure Iowans keep their hard-earned money.
Every year, Iowa workers lose hundreds of millions of dollars to wage theft — unpaid overtime, stolen tips, and hours worked off the clock illegally. Nate Willems has spent his career sitting across the table from workers who got cheated out of money they earned, and he's seen how hard it is for someone to fight greedy corporations who refuse to follow the law alone.
"Iowa's attorney general is supposed to help regular Iowans," said Willems. "Right now, Brenna Bird is failing to make this a priority. It's time for the attorney general's office to fight for Iowans, not the special interests and political insiders who are taking advantage of them."
Willems is a labor lawyer in Cedar Rapids who has built his career representing working Iowans who had nowhere else to turn — and delivering wins for them. He recovered $15 million for 11,000 University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics workers who were victims of systemic withheld wage payments, and has represented Iowa's building trades, UFCW, SEIU, AFSCME, local law enforcement, and workers across the state when they were denied what they were owed by their employer. He also secured the largest collectively bargained wage increase in Iowa history for the Carter Lake police department.
"The Attorney General's office is the largest law firm in the state of Iowa, and it's the only one that's supposed to work for regular Iowans," Willems said. "We should use every tool at our disposal to make sure Iowa workers are receiving the pay and benefits they have earned."
How Willems will protect Iowa paychecks
Creating a Dedicated Wage Theft Recovery Unit
A first-of-its-kind unit inside the Iowa Attorney General's office with dedicated staff focused solely on investigating employers who repeatedly ignore labor laws, including stealing wages, misclassifying workers, and more — using enforcement tools that already exist under Iowa law, so it can be stood up immediately, without waiting on the legislature to act.
Giving Workers a Direct Way to Report Violations
A direct line for Iowa workers to report wage theft to the Attorney General's Office — through a hotline or online intake form routed straight to an attorney or investigator. Workers would finally have a partner in these disputes beyond hiring a private attorney just to get their own wages back.
Investigating Bad Actors Thoroughly
Chronic and intentional wage theft is rarely an isolated mistake — employers who shortchange workers are often cutting corners elsewhere too. The unit would treat repeat wage theft as a signal to look harder at bad actors for additional illegal practices, not a one-off violation to settle and move past.
Going After the Most Common Ways Employers Cheat Workers
Focused enforcement on the violations Iowa workers report most often: employers who skim or withhold tips, misclassify workers to deny them what they are owed, make employees work off the clock, and paychecks illegally docked without a worker's consent.
Cracking Down on Repeat Offenders
Enforcement focused on corporations who intentionally break the rules or ignore repeated warnings. The office would catalog violations, work with other state agencies to monitor repeat offenders, and pursue criminal charges against bad actors — not just civil penalties — sending a clear message that stealing wages is a crime.
Partnering With Private Attorneys, Unions, and Legal Aid
The unit would work directly with Iowa's unions, legal aid organizations, and private attorneys already handling wage claims — expanding the office's reach without waiting to build capacity from scratch.