In a move to clamp down on wage theft, the County is stepping up its game with an almost $740,000 state grant, earmarked for intensifying the investigation and prosecution of employers who fail to compensate their workforce justly. The grant will fund a new deputy district attorney and a district attorney investigator, in addition the resources will also bolster forensic auditing capacities within the District Attorney’s Office to unravel often intricate cases of financial chicanery.

According to the San Mateo County Executive’s Office, this grant is a timely infusion as the County preps the inauguration of a new Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, which is conceived as a collaborative effort involving the County Executive's Office, the County Attorney's Office, and the District Attorney's Office, the office once operational will also endeavor to educate employers about compliance and labor rights.

“The approval by the Board of Supervisors of the D.A.’s Office Wage Theft Program will enable my office to investigate and prosecute employers who steal their employees hard earned wages,” District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe stated, as per the San Mateo County Executive’s Office. The Board of Supervisors had previously voted unanimously, as confirmed toward the end of last year, to birth the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement with a vision of restoration for wage theft victims and also an educative interface for employers on occupational laws.