Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
California Awards LA County More Than $1.6 Million To Fight Wage Theft
(
Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr.
/
CalMatters; iStock
)
The California Department of Industrial Relations recently awarded Los Angeles County more than $1.6 million to prosecute wage theft.
The money comes from the Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant Program, which will allow prosecutors to tackle wage theft cases and address obstacles workers face in reporting labor violations.
In L.A. County, the district attorney's office received $733,351. The county counsel‘s office was granted $475,000. The Long Beach prosecutor’s office received $414,392. In the city of L.A., the city attorney’s office was granted $317,543.
Prosecutors have already been busy holding employers who steal from their workers accountable. L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón’s office filed criminal charges last fall against garment industry business owners Soon Ae Park and Lawrence Lee for allegedly paying workers as little as $6 an hour and failing to provide overtime.
Sponsored message
Gascón followed that up by charging Catalina Island business owners Jack and Nora Tucey for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 in overtime wages from 18 employees just two months later. According to the D.A.'s office, Jack Tucey died in December.
Gascón, who’s up for reelection this November, said wage theft was one of the most under-reported crimes in L.A. County.
“We want to make sure that the employers that are willing to steal from the workers, that they are going to also be paying the consequences of that,” he said in an interview with LAist last fall.
An Economic Policy Institute study from 2017 revealed that 2.4 million low-wage workers in the 10 most populous states lose $8 billion annually in minimum wage violations.
In total, 17 prosecutors across the state received $8.55 million to go after wage theft violators.
California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower called wage theft a serious and costly crime.
Sponsored message
“Wage theft is a persistent problem, and this funding helps address it in local communities across our state,” she said in a statement.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
