The California Department of Industrial Relations maintains a database of wage theft claims presented to the office by employees, and wage claim judgments against individuals and corporations. We have reviewed this database for judgments from July 1st through September 30th, the third quarter of 2023.  

When a wage claim judgment occurs, the information about the defendant, the amount, and their industry is made public. When a wage claim is filed, the Labor Commissioner’s Office investigates the claim and publicly shares information about the name of the organization, the date of the claim, and again information categorizing the company or work by industry and location. 

If you believe you are not being paid for all the time you worked, or are not being paid overtime due, or are misclassified as exempt, we invite you to schedule a consultation with an employment lawyer at Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP. Schneider Wallace is a national law firm that represents employees in a wide range of employment law cases, including California employment lawsuits involving the failure to pay wages, overtime pay and commissions. Contact us at 1-800-689-0024. 

California Wage Claim Judgments for July, August, and September 2023  

California reported 678 judgments for the 3rd quarter of 2023, after excluding duplicates with the same judgement number (Ex: J-012345). Data as of September 14th, 2023. The total value of all judgments was $19,124,997.  

The Department of Industrial Relations records judgments by industry. Construction again had the largest number of judgments as a category with 53, the construction industry also lead in total number of wage judgements when data was reviewed last quarter. Despite only twelve judgements in the database, the cannabis grower industry had the largest total wage judgements at just over $2 million ($2,102,000).  

The largest wage claim judgment for the quarter was for $468,000 in the home health services industry, followed by a $408,000 wage judgement against a grocery store, both occurring in September. 

California Wage Claim Judgments 3rd Quarter 2023, By Industry  

July, August and September 2023 California Wage Claim Judgments, by Industry, ranked by judgment value (minimum $500,000 total in the industry, rounded to nearest $1,000):   

3rd Quarter California Wage Claim Judgments, by Industry, ranked by total judgments (minimum: 10):   

Most judgments come from Wage Claim Adjudication (WCA) offices. WCA offices’ investigate claims by workers, including missed overtime, vacation pay, or wages. The Stockton WCA had the largest judgements by total judgement value during July to September 2023, with over $3.4 million, followed by Los Angeles WCA office at over $2.5 million. 

The Bureau of Field Enforcement (BOFE) is responsible for enforcement of laws covering worker’s compensation insurance, cash payments, child labor and unlicensed contractors. Los Angeles Garment office focuses on the local garment industry, which as an industry has a long history of wage violations. 

California Wage Claims, Q3 2023  

The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) reported 7,297 new wage claims in Q3 of 2023. Wage claim cases are totaled using the docket open date or date filed, counting unique case numbers, as of November 14th, 2023.   

Employees can report wage claims such as lost wages, unpaid wages, unpaid overtime or commissions to the DIR, or workers can contact an attorney to assist with a claim. 

Schneider Wallace specializes in representing large numbers of workers with wage claims, through class actions and private attorney general act (PAGA) claims, and is proud to have represented workers in some of the largest class actions in the state. 

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP is a premier California wage attorney law firm, ready to review your claim for free and offer assistance if you were underpaid. Schneider Wallace has recovered millions for California workers and maintains a large practice of employment lawyers investigating wage theft. Contact us at 1-800-689-0024.  

Q3 2023 California DIR Wage Claims, by opens July through September, by Industry (50 or more individual claims):  

 “Restaurants and Other Eating Places” lead with 358 wage claim cases opened, swapping places compared to last quarter when Construction lead. When sorted by industry, construction had the second most claims at 299. 

If “Full Service Restaurants” and “Limited-Service Restaurants” are together as a similar industry classification to “Restaurants and Other Eating Places”, the total number of claims rises to 681. 

Security guards and patrol services had 213 claims, followed by colleges and universities, ambulatory health care, and hospitals.  Certain industries have seen repeated issues with complying fully with California law including for rest breaks and meals and paying all time including any work before or after clocking in for a shift, and these industries appear month after month as the most common wage claim categories.  Common job descriptions are security guards who may not get breaks or lunches, or are required to don gear or uniforms off the clock, and health care workers of all types who are frequently not compensated for work to get ready for shifts, or work done during rest and meal breaks to assist patients. 

Offices are kept busy, with this many reported unique claims over the quarter: 

Failure to Pay Wages, Overtime and Commissions  

California state law and federal law regulate payment of minimum wage, overtime and commissions.  

Right to pay can be complicated by unique employment relationships, such as independent contractors, tipped workers or commission-based positions. In addition, matters concerning deductions, holidays, meal periods and rest periods often arise.  

Legal Consult with Experienced Employment Lawyers  

Consult with Schneider Wallace to resolve wage claims and employment disputes. We invite you to schedule a consultation with an employment law attorney in our Bay Area and Los Angeles, California offices.