The county overwhelmingly passed a new ordinance to combat wage theft, making it easier for workers to bring legal action against employers who fail to pay them.

Thursday's vote comes after more than a year of work by a non-governmental task force of labor and immigrant advocates in Miami. San Francisco has a similar ordinance. Los Angeles and New Orleans are considering them.

The move permits workers to bring complaints against employers who fail to pay or don't pay overtime through a low-cost, streamlined process with public hearings.

Worker rights groups say the recession has increased wage theft nationwide. They say the local ordinances are a good start, but the federal government needs to step up investigations into problem industries.