José Millan
Mr. Millan is Senior Deputy Labor Commissioner, California Department of Industrial Relations.
During the past fiscal year, the State Labor Commissioner paid out to workers nearly $400,000 in wages owed by employers. The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) had collected these funds and more through regular audits of employers, sweeps, and lawsuits. Until hearing from DIR about these back wages, most of the recipients had never even realized that they had any money coming.
As part of its charge since 1883, DIR has acted on worker claims of employers' failure to pay wages or other compensation. Currently its Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, headed by the State Labor Commissioner, is responsible for pursuing and resolving wage claim cases as well as inspecting work sites for compliance with worker protection laws and regulations.
Legislation enacted in 1975 and codified in the California Labor Code established the Industrial Relations' Unpaid Wage Fund (UWF). Significantly, the Labor Commissioner is authorized to collect unpaid wages and monetary benefits due to any worker in the state, with or without a specific request from the worker to do so. The Commissioner is required to make a diligent search for workers to whom these moneys are owed and to pay sums due to workers who file valid claims. The Labor Commissioner is thus, in effect, trustee for all wages owed to workers in California.
The maximum allowable size of the UWF is $200,000. Amounts collected that would bring the fund above that level are put into the State General Fund but remain earmarked and accessible to benefit the workers in whose name they were collected.
A 1989 addition to the Labor Code requires the Labor Commissioner to publicize annually the existence of the Unpaid Wage Fund. Announcements are placed each December in all major newspapers in California, including many that serve non-English speaking communities.
Claims for unpaid wages may be made through offices of the Bureau of Field Enforcement, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, at either (1) 107 S. Broadway, Suite 5029, Los Angeles, CA 90012, phone 213/897-2905, or (2) 2424 Arden Way, Room 340, Sacramento, CA 95825, phone 916/920-6147.
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