DATE:
May 19, 2026
29
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
STRENGTHENING WAGE THEFT ENFORCEMENT TO RECOVER STOLEN WAGES AND PROTECT WORKING FAMILIES (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Across San Diego County, workers are losing wages they have rightfully earned due to wage theft. Wage theft is a widespread and persistent problem affecting low-wage workers, immigrant communities, and workers in industries where violations often go unseen or unreported. This loss of income impacts residents' ability to pay for basic necessities including rent, groceries, childcare, and healthcare for their families. When workers are underpaid, denied overtime, or not paid at all, the impact is harmful and immediate and forces families to absorb financial losses they cannot afford and perpetuates the consequences of poverty.
Wage theft is a pervasive and pernicious issue across the United States. Research published in the journal Preventive Medicine found that some employers in the United States steal tens of billions of dollars annually through wage theft, with total financial losses exceeding those from all other forms of property crimes combined.1 Local data also underscores the scale of this issue. In San Diego County, more than $29 million in unpaid wage theft judgments have accumulated since 2017, representing wages that workers have already been legally awarded through court judgements but have not yet received.2 This gap between judgment and recovery highlights a fundamental breakdown in enforcement and access to justice. A regional survey of hourly workers found that 87% experienced some form of wage theft within a calendar year, with many experiencing violations regularly.3 Despite the prevalence of these violations, awareness was critically low, as most affected workers did not recognize that they had experienced wage theft and nearly 90% of surveyed community members did not know where to report violations.4 Even when workers successfully navigate the system ...
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