RICHMOND, Va. – Attorney General Mark Herring announced Wednesday the designation of the Virginia Attorney General’s first Worker Protection Unit, a multidisciplinary team of prosecutors and attorneys within the Office of Attorney General. It will be led by a dedicated criminal prosecutor, that will focus on investigating, stopping and prosecuting individuals and businesses who unlawfully engage in worker exploitation, in addition to educating Virginia workers on their rights. Ad“Misclassification, payroll fraud, and wage theft are somewhat complicated terms, but at their simplest they are all instances of business owners and managers stealing from their hardworking employees,” said Herring. “For way too long, Virginia’s weak worker protection laws have made it way too easy for business managers, owners, and labor brokers to cheat their workers and cheat the Commonwealth. The Unit will also engage, as needed, with state agencies that have enforcement and oversight authority around worker protection laws including the Virginia Department of Taxation, Virginia Employment Commission, Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, and Office of Inspector General.