Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition (EEEC)

I want to . . .

Links

Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition (EEEC)

The Triple E Coalition consists of the following partners:

Department of Industrial Relations-
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement

The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement commonly known as the "Labor Commissioner's Office" is primarily responsible for the enforcement of the state's minimum labor standards. The minimum labor standards include the payment of the state's minimum wage, payment of overtime, recordkeeping requirements, rest and meal period requirements and other conditions of employment.

In addition, the Labor Commissioner's office enforces the state's mandatory workers' compensation insurance requirement, child labor laws, wage deduction statement requirement and unlicensed contractor requirements. The Labor Commissioner also licenses or regulates employers who operate as farm labor contractors, garment contractors, car wash operators or talent agents. The Labor Commissioner is responsible for issuing permits to children employed in the entertainment industry and certificates for teachers that teach and protect children in the entertainment industry.

However, the largest program administered by the Labor Commissioner is the state's wage payment law. An employee who is not paid his/her wages in accordance with the state's requirements may file a claim with the Labor Commissioner. The claim is processed through an informal settlement procedure and may result in an administrative hearing where a final determination of the Labor Commissioner results.

The Labor Commissioner operates a Bureau of Field Enforcement for the purposes of enforcing the state's minimum labor standards. This function is carried out primarily by investigators who conduct onsite inspections of employers' places of business to ensure compliance with the laws. Investigators are authorized to review payroll records to determine wages have been paid properly. The investigators also have authority to issue civil citations that carry a monetary penalty to employers found in violation of labor laws that carry a civil money penalty.

The Labor Commissioner operates 16 offices throughout the state. Each office is responsible for providing information to the public concerning labor laws and to conduct educational seminars in their assigned geographic areas for both employers and employees. Members of the public may file claims for violations of the state's labor laws in any of the Labor Commissioner's offices and may call to obtain general information concerning labor laws.

The Labor Commissioner also enforces 30 statutes that protect workers from retaliation for participating in protected activities. Some of the protected activities include filing a claim with the Labor Commissioner for violations of labor laws, serving on jury duty, filing a complaint regarding health or safety violations, participating in disclosing information to a governmental agency regarding illegal activity, and participating in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program.

Department of Industrial Relations-
Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH)

The Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH) works to improve safety and health in the workplace through standards enforcement, consultation assistance and training programs. In addition to its scheduled inspections of high-risk workplaces, DOSH investigates worksite fatalities, serious injuries or illnesses and complaints about hazards on the job.

DOSH aims to ensure that workers have safe workplaces in California, and seeks to achieve this goal by creating a safe and healthful work environment and an informed work force. Effective enforcement of standards with emphasis on rapid abatement of hazards is foremost in the accomplishment of this goal. DOSH enforcement is supported by voluntary protection programs, employer and employee training and consultation services.

Since 1973 California has operated its own federally monitored safety and health program, known as Cal/OSHA.

Major department units in the program are the:

Cal/OSHA Enforcement Unit - enforces workplace safety and health regulations. DOSH is authorized to conduct workplace inspections to enforce occupational safety and health standards. Every workplace covered by Cal/OSHA may be subject to these inspections, which are conducted by DOSH safety engineers and industrial hygienists from district offices throughout California. Complaint, referral and accident investigations, as well as scheduled compliance inspections, are conducted by the district offices.
Cal/OSHA Consultation Service - offers free training and consultation to help employers and their employees comply with workplace safety and health regulations. The Consultation Service works cooperatively with industry and labor to improve safety and health conditions in workplaces throughout the state. It is not connected in any way with DOSH Enforcement operations.
Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board - adopts, amends and repeals the standards and regulations.
Occupational Safety & Health Appeals Board - hears appeals regarding Cal/OSHA enforcement actions.

DOSH has additional responsibilities mandated by state law. The division has permit and certification programs as well as responsibility for inspecting elevators, amusement rides, pressure vessels and underground and surface mines. DOSH units include also high hazard enforcement, health and engineering services. Within the health and engineering services units are the elevator, pressure vessel and loss control certification.

The DOSH Bureau of Investigations (BOI), which determines criminal violations, is required to investigate accidents involving violations of standards, orders or special orders where there is a fatality, serious injury or illness to five or more employees, or a request for prosecution from the division's civil compliance staff. BOI also reviews the inspection reports regarding violations were serious injury or exposure occurred.

Employment Development Department

The California Employment Development Department (EDD), offers a wide variety of services to millions of Californians under the Job Service, Unemployment Insurance, Disability Insurance, Workforce Investment and Labor Market Information programs. As California's largest tax collection agency, EDD also handles the audit and collection of payroll taxes and maintains employment records for more than 17 million California workers.

EDD is one of the largest state departments with nearly 10,000 employees located in over 400 service locations throughout the state. EDD staff provide many important services to millions of Californians each year.

EDD's Tax Branch is one of the largest tax collection agencies in the nation, collecting more than $31 billion in payroll taxes from more than 1 million California employers.

Contractors' State License Board

The Contractors' State License Board (CSLB) is mandated by the California Legislature to license and regulate contractors within the construction industry. Contractors are required by law to be licensed and comply with all building, employment and tax laws. CSLB licenses and regulates contractors in 42 license classifications. Currently, there are approximately 290,000 licensed contractors regulated by the State.

CSLB's Enforcement Program is responsible for resolving construction disputes, enforcing Contractors' License Laws, combating the underground economy, and educating consumers and industry about licensing laws. Each year the Enforcement Program receives more than 20,000 consumer complaints filed by consumers and public agencies against licensed and unlicensed contractors. CSLB's Enforcement is comprised of 150 staff members who perform various functions from receiving and investigating complaints to participating in outreach seminars focused on educating consumers and other public agencies.

California Labor & Workforce Development Agency

The California Labor & Workforce Development Agency is an executive branch agency, and the secretary is a member of the governor's Cabinet. The agency oversees seven major departments, boards, and panels that serve California businesses and workers. The budget for all agency operations totals about $13 billion and includes approximately 12,900 staff working throughout California.

The agency was created in 2002 and is the first cabinet-level agency to coordinate workforce programs. The goals of the agency are to improve access to employment and training programs, and to ensure that California businesses and workers have a level playing field in which to compete and prosper. Business owners that follow the law face unfair competition from employers who do not pay employment payroll taxes or the minimum wage, fail to provide workers' compensation coverage, or otherwise break the law.

US Department of Labor - Wage & Hour Division

The mission of the US Department of Labor's Wage & Hour Division is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. The Wage & Hour Division is responsible for the administration and enforcement of a wide range of laws which collectively cover virtually all private, state and local government employment.

The Western Region for the Wage & Hour Division covers eight states with a total of 53.5 million people. These states are - Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.