Redwood City – The County has accepted a nearly $740,000 grant that will strengthen efforts to investigate and prosecute shameless employers who try to cheat workers out of their rightful wages.
The state grant will fund a new deputy district attorney, a district attorney investigator, and provide additional forensic auditing resources for the District Attorney’s Office to dig into what are often complex cases. Importantly, the grant provides funding while County officials launch a new Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, which will be a partnership between the County Executive's Office, the County Attorney's Office and the District Attorney's Office.
“The approval by the Board of Supervisors of the D.A.’s Office Wage Theft Program will enable my office to investigate and prosecute employers who steal their employees hard earned wages,” said District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe. “With a full-time prosecutor and an investigator, justice for the victim employees is now possible.”
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously late last year to create the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement with a mission to help wage-theft victims recover stolen wages. The office, once established, will also work with employers to inform them about their rights and workers’ rights.
Supervisor Ray Mueller, who along with Supervisor Dave Pine brought the proposal to create the office to the full Board, said, “We are very grateful to District Attorney Wagstaffe, Deputy District Attorney Jill Nerone and the District Attorney’s Office for prioritizing the investigation and prosecution of these cases, bringing justice to those victimized by wage theft, and ultimately deterring others from abusing vulnerable workers in this manner.”
Local officials say there is a pressing need to apply more resources to prevent and investigate wage theft. People who earn low wages, women, people of color, non-English speakers and foreign-born workers are particularly at risk of wage theft, according to experts.
Examples of wage theft include unpaid wages, being paid less than the minimum wage, not accruing sick leave or overtime pay and unauthorized payroll deductions, among others.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to accept the $739,396 grant at their meeting on Aug. 27, 2024.