Our mission is to provide leadership to protect and improve the well-being of California’s current and future workforce.

The State of California Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) 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 Agency, which has a cumulative budget of $26 billion and 14,000 employees covering six main areas:

• Benefit administration, including workers’ compensation, unemployment, disability and family leave insurance.
• Enforcement of California labor laws to protect workers and create an even playing field for employers.
• Appellate functions related to employee benefits, regulations and enforcement in the workplace.
• Workforce development activities, including grant making for job training and coordination with other workforce development partners.
• Tax collection through the EDD, which is the third largest tax collection agency in the United States.
• Economic development activities that lead to job creation and improved economic competitiveness.

The goals of the Agency are twofold:

• Improve access to employment and training programs.
• 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 taxes or the minimum wage, fail to provide workers’ compensation coverage, or break the law in other ways.

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