Story from the "we really want to be Silicon Valley" company I worked for in the early 2010s:
When I started, the company allowed any employee to work overtime (didn't need to be approved) and paid all of it. So, mostly being young, we'd all work 10-12 hours a day, six days a week. I still only made about $50k my first year but I thought that was great money at that time in my life.
Well, the company hit a rough patch and had to stop paying overtime. They announced to all of us that it had been cut and wouldn't be paid anymore. OK, that sucks, but after a year of that I thought I'd risk burning out anyway. So back to 40 hour work weeks, no problem.
About three months later, during performance reviews, I didn't get a raise. In fact, I was the only employee on my team that didn't get one, even though my work product was exceptional. I went and asked my supervisor about it, and she said, "Oh, management said you didn't get a raise because your work ethic and attendance isn't as good as your peers."
"What? I've never been late or missed a day, and I exceed all my goals."
"Well, yes, but... Well, they said that they were disappointed when you stopped working overtime hours when they stopped paying overtime hours. They really expect more hustle from staff."
"But... it's literally illegal for me to work without being paid....? It's probably also illegal to pass me over for a raise for not doing illegal things."
"Sure, but we've crunched the numbers and it's more profitable to just pay wage claim settlements and fines than it is to follow labor laws, so...."
Actually, reflecting on it, this was probably the moment when I truly understood what "late stage capitalism" meant.
