As nearly every employer knows, California is just different when it comes to employment law. With hundreds—if not thousands—of technical requirements, even the most conscientious employer may run afoul of the Labor Code. Recently, news headlines have been filled with stories of so-called "wage theft," broadly defined as wages that an employer should have paid to employees but didn't (whether intentionally or not). Indeed, the media has begun to describe many run-of-the-mill wage and hour lawsuits as "wage theft" cases. Against that backdrop, California has redoubled its efforts to reduce or eliminate wage theft.

For example, at the state level, currently it may take as long as three to five years to complete wage claim processing. In an effort to streamline and accelerate this process, the 2023-2024 California state budget includes an additional $16 million in funding to add staff to the Labor Commissioner's Office and tackle the backlog of investigations. The Labor Commissioner's Office is not wasting any time in moving to bulk up its office; two weeks ago it released a YouTube recruiting video with the catchy title: "Help Stop Wage Theft as a Deputy Labor Commissioner."

At the same time that the state is increasing enforcement efforts, many local efforts continue as well. For example, in Los Angeles, District Attorney George Gascon, the Carpenters' Union, and the Labor Commissioner have partnered to promote investigation and prosecution of wage theft (which they also...

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