For the second year in a row, a $750,000 state grant will help the County recover money owed to victims of wage theft.
The State Labor Commission announced the award of the grant to the County Wednesday. The funds will help support the salaries of County employees who investigate and prosecute wage theft cases for criminal or civil violations, as well as outreach efforts to educate employees about their rights under the law.
The District Attorney’s Office works with County Counsel and the County’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement (OLSE) to hold employers who violate state or local labor laws accountable.
Workers in San Diego County suffer nearly $2 million in wage theft every year.
The people who are most at risk are low-wage earners, women, people of color, non-English speaking persons and those who are foreign-born. They may be afraid to speak up, or they don’t know how to get an employer to pay them what they are due.
“You work hard to put dinner on the table for your family, and then your employer refuses to pay you,” said Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer. “It’s not just a hardship, it’s wrong, and that’s why the County is stepping in to help make things right.”
The County’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement was established in 2021 to educate employers and workers about employment laws and workers’ rights.
The office administers the Workplace Justice Fund which has helped nearly 50 victims of wage theft.
The DA’s Workplace Justice Unit was also created in 2021 and was one of the first in California to investigate and prosecute criminal wage theft cases.
“I’m proud of my office’s Workplace Justice Unit’s work to protect employees from wage theft and labor trafficking,” said District Attorney Summer Stephan. “People depend on their wages to support their families.”
“With this state grant,” Stephan said, “our office can continue protecting workers from employers who don’t follow the law. We thank California’s Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower for awarding the County this second round of funding to support this important work.”
The DA’s office investigates criminal wage theft cases, County Counsel addresses violations of labor laws through civil enforcement actions and OLSE educates employers about labor laws and workers about their rights.
This past year, OLSE received over 600 inquiries related to wage theft and workplace violations.
“Currently, 80 cases are under active investigation, with the goal of recovering unpaid wages, including minimum wage violations and stolen tips, for impacted workers,” said County Ethics, Compliance and Labor Standards Director Branden Butler. “So far, OLSE alone has helped collect nearly $26,000, and in collaboration with the D.A. and County Counsel, an additional $278,000.”
The new state grant is part of a larger pool of money that will go to 16 prosecutors’ offices statewide.
“Wage theft is a serious crime that devastates working families and weakens California’s economy,” said California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower. “I am proud to announce an additional $8.6 million in grant funding to continue advancing our critical work in holding perpetrators accountable through increased prosecutions for wage theft…workers deserve every dollar they’ve rightfully earned, and law-abiding employers deserve a level playing field.”
The funding will cover the time period between Aug. 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026.
For more information on workers’ rights or wage theft, contact the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement at 619-531-5129 or call the DA workplace justice hotline at 1-866-402-6044.