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San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe’s office has received $750,000 from the California Labor Commissioner’s Office to expand its enforcement of workers’ rights violations.
The funding comes from an $8.55 million statewide grant program awarded to 16 local prosecutors’ offices to support investigations and prosecutions of wage theft and other labor violations.
“I thank the California Labor Commissioner’s Office for providing additional resources that bolster our fight against worker exploitation, enhance partnerships, and forge new county-wide alliances to uncover wage theft across San Mateo County’s major industries,” Wagstaffe said in a prepared release. “With this momentum, we are relentlessly pursuing every dollar owed and sending an unmistakable message: In San Mateo County, stealing from workers will cost you far more than you ever saved.”
This is the second year the Labor Commissioner’s Office has awarded funding through the Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant Program. Demand exceeded available funding, with prosecutors requesting more than $10.7 million statewide.
Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower called wage theft “a serious crime that devastates working families and weakens California’s economy.”
“We remain firmly committed to partnering with community organizations, industry leaders, and public prosecutors to end these abusive practices,” she said in the release.
