San Diego County prosecutors announced Thursday that their office has received a $750,000 state grant to combat rising incidences of wage theft.
The two-year grant from the Labor Commissioner’s Office will support both criminal and civil prosecutions and investigations into wage theft cases that result in around $2 million in losses annually in the county, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Officials say the bulk of wage theft victims are low-wage workers, women, people of color, non- English speaking and foreign-born individuals.
A recent San Diego State University study highlighted the prevalence of labor violations plaguing local workers, including widespread cases of underpayment and minimum-wage and sick-day violations.
Workers also were often unaware that their working conditions constituted wage theft or knew how to report violations to authorities.
“Wage theft is oppressive and impacts the livelihood and dignity of hard-working people,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement. “This is why it has been a priority for our office to hold those who steal wages accountable through felony wage theft prosecutions.”
While the Labor Commissioner’s Office typically handles wage theft investigations, recent legislation expanded the scope of authority to include other prosecutors.
The grant will support the salaries of a prosecutor, investigator and paralegal for such cases, and also assist the Office of County Counsel and the County Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement in pursuing civil judgments on behalf of affected workers.
– City News Service
