Division of Labor Standards Enforcement: orders, decisions, and awards.

Senators Wahab and Wiener, together with coauthors Cortese and Kalra, propose a measure that treats the prompt payment of wages as a core public policy by expanding who can pursue wage judgments and adding a suite of enforceable remedies to recover unpaid wages.

Key provisions introduce a broad set of enforcement tools and procedures for final wage judgments. An employer pursuing review of a Labor Commissioner order must post an undertaking in the review process, and costs incurred by other parties may be shifted to the appealing party if the appeal is unsuccessful. Final orders become enforceable with immediate judgment and enforcement priority, and the Labor Commissioner may certify the final order with the court. The measure adds asset-disclosure procedures to aid in identifying debtor assets, permits sanctions for willful noncompliance with reporting, and creates a real-property lien option that the Labor Commissioner may record against the debtor’s property, with a 10-year maximum duration and a release upon payment. It also provides for a stay of execution for good cause and a satisfaction mechanism for judgments, and it contemplates a bond requirement related to enforcement actions.

A new civil-penalty framework targets nonpayment of wages. If a final judgment remains unsatisfied after 180 days from the time to appeal expires and no appeal is pending, the judgment debtor may face a civil penalty not to exceed three times the outstanding amount, with an accord exception for pre-180-day resolutions. The court may assess the full penalty unless good cause is shown to reduce it, and penalties are split evenly between the employee or employees and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, subject to appropriation. The measure also makes successors to the judgment debtor jointly and severally liable for penalties and states that penalties are in addition to other penalties or fines.

The measure further requires that prevailing plaintiffs—whether the judgment creditor, the Labor Commissioner, or a public prosecutor acting as assignee—receive all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to enforce the final judgment. It broadens the role of the Labor Commissioner and public prosecutors as assignees of judgment creditors for enforcement purposes and for recovering costs and fees in the enforcement process, while maintaining a framework of due process and procedural safeguards for appeals, asset-disclosure, and lien enforcement.

Implementation and policy context considerations focus on coordinating with courts and county recorders to process liens, disclosures, and enforcement actions; updating agency processes and forms to accommodate asset-disclosure reporting, appeal undertakings, and lien recording; and addressing budget implications tied to new enforcement tools and the potential for penalties to fund DLSE enforcement education, all within the authors’ findings that wage theft is a pervasive issue and that prompt wage recovery serves workers and broader public policy.