County supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-1 to expand investigative capacity for the office dedicated to wage theft enforcement and recovery.
San Diego County, through its Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, has for years played a big role in investigating allegations of unpaid wages, supporting workers and coordinating enforcement. County officials even established the nation’s first Workplace Justice Fund to provide financial support to impacted workers.
The board’s action directs top officials to implement an expanded enforcement and investigative strategy, enhance legal coordination, and identify possible fees and penalties to help maximize recovery and financial relief for impacted workers. Officials will also set aside $300,000 in next year’s budget and expand staffing.
Since 2017, more than $30 million in unpaid wage theft judgments have accumulated across the region. That represents money that workers have been awarded but have not received.
This comes on the heels of an inewsource investigation into Wealthplus, an elderly care company in Poway that leads the region with the highest amount in wage theft judgments.
Supervisor Jim Desmond was the lone no vote, saying he thinks this is the responsibility of the state or federal government.
“If anything, we should push the state to do better,” Desmond said.