New state data reveal that California workers face years-long waits to resolve cases of wage theft through California’s Labor Commissioner’s Office. Last year the average wait time for a worker to get a hearing on a claim that their employer didn’t pay owed wages was more than three years in Oakland – the worst in the state. San Francisco’s wait time was a little over two and a half years. According to advocates, the delays discourage workers from reporting wage thefts, in turn reinforcing systems of worker exploitation. The Labor Commissioner’s Office cites staffing shortages as a key problem in hearing cases efficiently, compounded by the pandemic. We’ll learn more about the causes and effects of California’s wage theft claims backlog.
State Data Reveal Years-Long Waits to Resolve Wage Theft Claims
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Guests:
Veronica Chavez, Interim Workers' Rights Directing Attorney, Centro Legal de la Raza
Farida Jhabvala Romero, reporter, KQED
Carlos Torres, assistant chief, Wage Claim Adjudication Unit, California Labor Commissioner's Office
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