The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the Labor Commissioner’s Office launched a new Worker’s Rights Enforcement Grant Program. The program provides local prosecutors funding to pursue wage theft cases. Wage theft involves things like not paying workers their full earned wages on time, which some people might not realize is actually a crime, not just a bad work practice.
The program has $8,500,000 available for each of the first and second-year grant cycles, beginning in 2024 and totaling over $17 million. It aims to enforce labor laws, prosecute those who break them, and discourage employers from engaging in illegal practices like not paying overtime or violating minimum wage laws.