California judge orders state to tackle massive wage-theft claim backlog
A California judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the Labor Commissioner’s Office has let wage-theft claims pile up for years, prompting a potential court-ordered fix.
California’s Labor Commissioner’s Office faces a lawsuit claiming it has failed to process wage-theft complaints in a timely manner, despite a legal requirement to resolve cases within about four months. An audit released in 2024 identified a backlog of 47,000 claims and wait times six times longer than allowed, attributing the problem to chronic understaffing. The case, brought by employment law firm Moss Bollinger and the nonprofit Legal Aid At Work for a Santa Monica hotel worker who waited over a year for a hearing, was not dismissed by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Rebekah Evenson.
Advocates say the broken system deprives low-wage employees of any practical remedy for stolen wages. Meanwhile, the state continues to collect millions annually for enforcement but has left large portions of the fund untouched, even diverting some to the general budget. The judge’s order may compel the agency to allocate resources and reduce the backlog, potentially restoring access to wage-recovery hearings for thousands of workers.
