[California] Employers underpaying workers could be jailed under proposed law

Employers who fail to pay their workers properly could face up to three years in jail under a new bill proposed by a California Democrat. If passed the bill would classify the offence as grand theft, The Sacramento Bee reports.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) introduced the proposal saying the bill would give California regulators an additional tool to enforce the state’s minimum wage and other pay laws. Various studies have shown that California workers lose $1 billion to $2 billion to wage theft every year. (Links via original reporting)

“We want people to be deterred,” Ms Gonzalez said. “We need to look at wage theft like other crimes.”

Wage theft comes in many forms, from failing to pay workers minimum wage or overtime to violating a state’s meal and rest break requirements.

In 2015, former Governor Jerry Brown reportedly signed a bill to crack down on wage theft, such as allowing regulators to impose a lien on the property of employers who fail to pay but recovering unpaid wages remains difficult. 

About 30,000 workers who filed claims in 2017 were only able to collect less than 20 per cent of wages owed to them, according to a 2020 report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office. (Link via original reporting)

In 2020 California’s labour commissioner hired 32 employees to tackle wage theft claims, Paola Laverde - a spokesperson for the office - said. The office has created a process to accept claims and process them remotely. It is also building expertise among its staff by assigning them cases in specific low-wage industries, Ms Laverde said.

However, it takes an average of 380 days for a claim to be heard, Ms Laverde added, although she noted that not all cases proceed to a hearing and some are resolved via settlement or voluntary payment by the employer.

Employers who fail to pay their workers properly could face up to three years in jail under a new bill proposed by a California Democrat. If passed the bill would classify the offence as grand theft, The Sacramento Bee reports.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) introduced the proposal saying the bill would give California regulators an additional tool to enforce the state’s minimum wage and other pay laws. Various studies have shown that California workers lose $1 billion to $2 billion to wage theft every year. (Links via original reporting)

“We want people to be deterred,” Ms Gonzalez said. “We need to look at wage theft like other crimes.”

Wage theft comes in many forms, from failing to pay workers minimum wage or overtime to violating a state’s meal and rest break requirements.

In 2015, former Governor Jerry Brown reportedly signed a bill to crack down on wage theft, such as allowing regulators to impose a lien on the property of employers who fail to pay but recovering unpaid wages remains difficult. 

About 30,000 workers who filed claims in 2017 were only able to collect less than 20 per cent of wages owed to them, according to a 2020 report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office. (Link via original reporting)

In 2020 California’s labour commissioner hired 32 employees to tackle wage theft claims, Paola Laverde - a spokesperson for the office - said. The office has created a process to accept claims and process them remotely. It is also building expertise among its staff by assigning them cases in specific low-wage industries, Ms Laverde said.

However, it takes an average of 380 days for a claim to be heard, Ms Laverde added, although she noted that not all cases proceed to a hearing and some are resolved via settlement or voluntary payment by the employer.