Media

California Labor Department – Wage Theft Claims and Judgments – May 2022

The California Department of Industrial Relations maintains a database of wage theft claims presented to the office by employees against individuals and corporations. When a wage claim is filed, the Labor Commissioner’s Office investigates the claim, and publicly posts information about the name of the organization or individual, the date of the claim, and additional information such as the type of industry.

The Labor Commissioner’s Office also lists all labor judgments for wage theft, misclassification, and other labor issues.

Below are updates for May 2022, data from a search of the government labor databases on July 5th, 2022.

If you believe you are not being paid for all of the time you have worked, are not being paid the overtime due to you or are misclassified, 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 class action lawsuits involving the failure to pay wages, overtime pay and commissions. Contact us at 800-689-0024.

Free Private Legal Consultation
Call Our 24/7 Legal Hotline
1-800-689-0024

California Wage Judgments, May 2022

California reported 216 judgments in May 2022, after excluding duplicates such as an owner receiving a separate judgment with their company (duplicates defined as judgments listed with: 1) identical monetary judgment values and 2) identical defendant address).

California Wage Judgments May 2022, By Industry

May 2022 California Wage Judgments, by Industry (minimum $50,000):

May 2022 Judgment Total, By Industry

Sum of Judgment Totals

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services

$476,172

Restaurants and Other Eating Places

$430,999

Television Broadcasting

$341,834

Apparel Manufacturing

$306,355

Motion Picture and Video Industries

$209,169

Full-Service Restaurants

$190,863

Home Health Care Services

$183,443

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers

$158,812

Car Washes

$92,961

Residential Building Construction

$84,945

General Automotive Repair

$80,846

Offices of Chiropractors

$75,175

Commercial and Institutional Building Construction

$74,469

Janitorial Services

$67,244

Vending Machine Operators

$66,122

HMO Medical Centers

$55,075

Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services

$54,215

General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload

$54,074

California Wage Judgments May 2022, By Labor Office

May 2022 California Wage Judgments by Labor Office, ranked by total judgment value:

Judgment Total, by Labor Office

Judgment Totals

Van Nuys WCA

$1,050,254

Long Beach WCA

$826,155

Sacramento WCA

$642,407

Los Angeles WCA

$522,249

Los Angeles GARMENT

$306,355

San Jose WCA

$177,758

Santa Rosa WCA

$140,124

Santa Ana WCA

$93,202

Santa Ana BOFE

$71,325

Salinas WCA

$55,075

Oakland WCA

$39,503

Redding WCA

$20,190

Santa Barbara WCA

$8,929

Stockton WCA

$8,299

Salinas BOFE

$100

Grand Total

$3,961,924

May 2022 California Wage Judgments, ranked by number of judgments:

Judgment Total, by Labor Office

Count of Judgments

Los Angeles WCA

47

Long Beach WCA

46

Sacramento WCA

37

Van Nuys WCA

30

Los Angeles GARMENT

13

Santa Ana WCA

11

Santa Rosa WCA

10

San Jose WCA

9

Oakland WCA

4

Redding WCA

3

Stockton WCA

2

Santa Ana BOFE

1

Santa Barbara WCA

1

Salinas BOFE

1

Salinas WCA

1

Grand Total

216

Los Angeles maintains a separate garment office (Los Angeles GARMENT), as California and Southern California have the largest per capita employment in the garment industry in the United States. Garment workers frequently face issues of unpaid labor, whether it be unpaid labor worked or underpayment such as failure to pay overtime.

The Bureau of Field Enforcement (BOFE) such as the San Diego BOFE office, is responsible for investigating enforcement of laws and statues covering worker’s compensation insurance coverage, child labor, cash payments for work, and unlicensed contractors.

Most judgments are from Wage Claim Adjudication (WCA) offices, WCA offices investigate claims by workers, whether that claim be missed overtime, vacation pay, or wages.

California Wage Judgments May 2022, By Courthouse

May 2022 California Wage Judgments, by Courthouse, ranked by total judgment value:

May 2022 Judgment Total, By Industry

Sum of Judgment Totals

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Stanley Mosk Courthouse

 $                         1,480,024

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, George Deukmejian Courthouse

 $                             406,396

California Superior Court, County of Sacramento, Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse

 $                             386,750

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Alhambra Courthouse

 $                             357,949

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Burbank Courthouse

 $                             207,486

California Superior Court, County of Santa Clara, Downtown Superior Court

 $                             206,512

California Superior Court, County of Orange, Central Justice Center

 $                             164,527

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Santa Monica Courthouse

 $                             138,369

California Superior Court, County of Solano, Hall of Justice

 $                             137,170

California Superior Court, County of Yolo, Yolo Superior Court

 $                               93,017

California Superior Court, County of Sonoma, Hall of Justice

 $                               91,767

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Compton Courthouse

 $                               69,210

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Chatsworth Courthouse

 $                               45,578

California Superior Court, County of Alameda, René C. Davidson Courthouse

 $                               30,076

California Superior Court, County of Contra Costa, Wakefield Taylor Courthouse

 $                               27,879

California Superior Court, County of San Francisco

 $                               27,320

California Superior Court, County of San Mateo, Southern Branch: Hall of Justice

 $                               26,322

California Superior Court, County of Napa, Historic Courthouse

 $                               21,038

California Superior Court, County of Placer, Placer County Superior Court

 $                               16,960

California Superior Court, County of Ventura, Hall of Justice

 $                                 8,929

California Superior Court, County of Merced, Robert M. Falasco Justice Center

 $                                 8,510

California Superior Court, County of San Joaquin, Stockton Courthouse

 $                                 5,376

California Superior Court, County of Tuolumne, Historic Courthouse

 $                                 2,923

California Superior Court, County of Shasta, Main Courthouse

 $                                 1,738

California Superior Court, County of Fresno – B.F. Sisk Courthouse

 $                                     100

Grand Total

 $                         3,961,924

May 2022 California Wage Judgments, by Courthouse:

May 2022 Judgment Total, By California Court

Number of Judgments

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Stanley Mosk Courthouse

113

California Superior Court, County of Sacramento, Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse

22

California Superior Court, County of Orange, Central Justice Center

12

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, George Deukmejian Courthouse

11

California Superior Court, County of Santa Clara, Downtown Superior Court

8

California Superior Court, County of Solano, Hall of Justice

7

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Burbank Courthouse

6

California Superior Court, County of Sonoma, Hall of Justice

6

California Superior Court, County of Yolo, Yolo Superior Court

5

California Superior Court, County of Contra Costa, Wakefield Taylor Courthouse

3

California Superior Court, County of Alameda, René C. Davidson Courthouse

3

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Compton Courthouse

2

California Superior Court, County of San Francisco

2

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Alhambra Courthouse

2

California Superior Court, County of San Mateo, Southern Branch: Hall of Justice

2

California Superior Court, County of Napa, Historic Courthouse

2

California Superior Court, County of Placer, Placer County Superior Court

2

California Superior Court, County of San Joaquin, Stockton Courthouse

1

California Superior Court, County of Tuolumne, Historic Courthouse

1

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Santa Monica Courthouse

1

California Superior Court, County of Merced, Robert M. Falasco Justice Center

1

California Superior Court, County of Ventura, Hall of Justice

1

California Superior Court, County of Shasta, Main Courthouse

1

California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Chatsworth Courthouse

1

California Superior Court, County of Fresno – B.F. Sisk Courthouse

1

Grand Total

216

California Wage Claims, May 2022

The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) reported over 2,700 wage claims in May of 2022. The DIR handles thousands of claims a month. Employees can in addition to reporting wage claims such as lost wages, unpaid wages, unpaid overtime or commissions to the DIR, can contact an attorney to assist with a claim. 

Schneider Wallace is a premier California wage attorney law firm, ready to review your claim for free and offer assistance if you were underpaid. Contact us at 800-689-0024.

May 2022 California Wage Judgments, by Industries with 20 or more claims:

Claims by Industry, 25 or More, May 2022

Number of Wage Claims

Restaurants and Other Eating Places

113

Security Guards and Patrol Services

91

Construction

79

Agriculture

67

Temporary Help Services

64

Full-Service Restaurants

58

Limited-Service Restaurants

53

Employment Placement Agencies

44

Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders

44

Home Health Care Services

44

Truck Transportation

41

Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels

41

Hospitals

37

Offices of Dentists

31

Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores

30

Janitorial Services

30

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

29

Other Residential Care Facilities

27

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services

26

Couriers and Express Delivery Services

25

All Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers (except Tobacco Stores)

22

Elementary and Secondary Schools

22

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

22

Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries

20

“Restaurants and Other Eating Places” lead as an industry category with 113 claims. When including other variations of food service with 20 more claims, “Full Service Restaurants” and “Limited-Service Restaurants”, there were a combined 224 wage claims.

Other industries with frequent wage claims appear on the list, including construction, security guards, agriculture and temp agencies. Construction workers can frequently be misclassified, and security guards frequently face unpaid labor in the form of unpaid overtime or working through meals and breaks. Staffing agencies that hire temporary or contractor workers for jobs such as warehouse workers can sometimes underpay hours, or charge improper fees on paychecks. Agriculture jobs may require you work through meals or rest breaks without additional compensation, or fail to correctly record time worked.

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 and 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.

Free Private Legal Consultation
Call Our 24/7 Legal Hotline
1-800-689-0024