After years of advocacy, we won a County Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE)!
Thank you to our partners who have advocated with us and to everyone who called in, signed the petition, and spread the word. We’re grateful to Supervisor Nathan Fletcher for bringing this proposal forward to the Board of Supervisors.
This is a much needed first step in protecting workers’ rights. To protect workers this office must be worker–centered, proactively investigate industries with high cases of wage theft, and use their power to receive back pay and settlements for workers. We will also continue pushing for regional policies that protect workers and living wages.
Why is this important for workers?
- A local office allows the County to work with the State to better protect workers and target industries with high rates of wage theft.
- $2 billion is stolen from workers in CA each year by employers who pay less than the minimum wage.
- 64% of workers we surveyed experienced sick days violations.
- 77% of restaurant workers we interviewed experienced wage theft.
- Fear of retaliation and too little information on how and where to get help are main reasons workers do not file complaints.
If you’re interested in learning more about wage theft in San Diego County and why an OLSE is so important, check out our reports on this topic:
