Welcome to Labor & Workforce Development Agency

Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition

Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition logo

What is EEEC?
How Can I help the EEEC?
Where can I learn about California laws?
How is EEEC working?
How can I start a career with the EEEC?

What is EEEC?

Over one million successful businesses drive California's dynamic economy. These California businesses are innovative, creative, hard-working, and provide many jobs in our marketplace. California's successful businesses and their workers, however, are facing an ever-increasing danger. Their ability to compete in the state and global economy is threatened by California's underground economy. This underground economy plagues many of our once vital industries, drives down wages, creates harsh working conditions, and undercuts legitimate businesses to a point where they can no longer fairly compete and provide well-paying jobs to Californians.

Businesses operating underground have typical profiles such as they:

  • Avoid licensing requirements which makes them harder to find and bring into compliance with state and local laws
  • Pay wages in cash, which allows them to avoid payroll taxes that fund unemployment insurance, disability insurance, personal income tax, paid family leave
  • Employ vulnerable workers, new immigrants, children, and economically disadvantaged individuals
  • Fail to pay even the minimum wage mandated by state or federal law
  • Fail to carry workers' compensation insurance
  • Avoid minimum worker and workplace safety requirements

Department of Industrial Relations logo

California Department of Industrial Relations

The California Department of Industrial Relations oversees seven programs and six boards and commissions. There are two programs participating in the EEEC. They are:

Division of Labor Standards Enforcement
The mission of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement is to vigorously enforce minimum labor standards in order to ensure employees are not required or permitted to work under substandard unlawful conditions, and to protect employers who comply with the law from those who attempt to gain competitive advantage at the expense of their workers by failing to comply with minimum labor standards. This program is primarily responsible for the enforcement of California's minimum labor standards including:

  • California's minimum wage law
  • Timely payment of overtime & wages
  • Record keeping requirements
  • Rest & meal period requirements
  • Mandatory workers' compensation insurance coverage
  • Child labor laws
  • Wage deduction statements
  • Workplace discriminatory retaliation practices
  • Unlicensed contractor requirements

In addition, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement licenses or regulates California employers and young workers. This includes licensing for:

  • Farm labor contractors
  • Garment manufacturers
  • Car wash operators
  • Talent agents
  • Film studio teachers
  • Children employed in the entertainment industry

Labor standards enforcement investigators conduct onsite workplace inspections to ensure compliance with California's laws. Investigators are authorized to review payroll records to determine wages have been paid properly and to issue civil citations to employers found in violation of labor laws that carry a civil monetary penalty. Click here for more information on the labor standards enforcement program.

Division of Occupational Safety & Health The Division of Occupational Safety & Health aims to ensure that workers have safe workplaces in California and seeks to achieve this goal through effective enforcement of California's workplace safety and health standards with emphasis on rapid abatement of hazards.

The Division includes industrial hygienists, safety engineers, and investigators to conduct onsite workplace inspections. In addition, the program permits and certifies elevators, amusement rides, pressure vessels, and underground and surface mines. For more information on this program, click on this link (http://www.dir.ca.gov/DOSH/dosh1.html).

 

Employment Development Department

California Employment Development Department

The California Employment Development Department offers a wide variety of services to millions of California workers and businesses under the Job Service, Unemployment Insurance, Disability Insurance, Workforce Investment Act, 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. Each year, EDD collects more than $31 billion in payroll taxes from more than 1 million California employers.

The EDD is concerned about workers who lose benefits and other protections provided by state law when the business that they work for operate in the underground economy. EDD's Underground Economy Operation (UEO) program was established in 1993 to reduce unfair business competition and protect the rights of workers. UEO consists of three significant program focus areas - Employment Enforcement Task Force, Targeted Industries Partnership Program, and the Construction Enforcement Project. Click here for more information on EDD's enforcement efforts and UEO.

 

Employment Development Department

California Labor & Workforce Development Agency

This link will provide you with background information on our Agency (www.labor.ca.gov/aboutindex.htm).

At the Labor & Workforce Development Agency, the Deputy Secretary for Wage Enforcement & Fair Employment Practices oversees the implementation of the Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition to ensure that our program resources are leveraged to target the worst offenders in California's underground economy. Our Agency also takes a lead role in coordinating the public education components of the enforcement programs to make certain that employers and workers understand their rights and responsibilities under state and federal law.

 

California Contractors State License Board logo

California Contractors State License Board

The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) is mandated by the California Legislature to license and regulate contractors in 42 license classifications within California's construction industry. Contractors are required by law to be licensed and comply with all building, employment, and tax laws. 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 against licensed and unlicensed contractors. CSLB's Enforcement is comprised of 150 staff members who perform various functions from receiving complaints to investigating complaints to participating in outreach seminars focused on educating consumers and other public agencies. CSLB has established a Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) that focuses on the underground economy and on unlicensed contractors. These units conduct stings and sweeps to help curtail illegal contracting by citing those who are not licensed.

For more information on CSLB, click on this link (www.cslb.ca.gov)

 

Dept of Labor Seal

US Department of Labor

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. Wage & Hour Division is responsible for the administration and enforcement of a wide range of laws which collectively cover virtually all private and government employment. This link will take you to more information on Wage & Hour Division at the US Department of Labor's Web site (www.dol.gov/esa/whd/)

In June 2005, the first statewide cross-training conference for the newly formed Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition was held. Coalition partners - US DOL, Contractors State License Board, DIR & EDD, sent 150 of their dedicated enforcement staff to learn about each agency's role and responsibilities in labor law and tax enforcement programs, establish protocols in working with each other, and learn from each of the program experts on how best to reign in California's underground economy.

How can I help the EEEC?

Consumers, business owners, and workers may help us create a level playing field for business to compete by reporting any potential underground economy operations or payroll tax fraud. Below are links to the programs' hotlines and reporting lines -

Toll-free EDD hotline to report underground business operations -
1-800-528-1783

Submit a Fraud Reporting form via the Internet
https://eapply4ui.edd.ca.gov/eddcomm/frmFraudStart.htm
https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToFileBOFEClaim.htm
http://www.cslb.ca.gov/consumers/infocomplaint.asp

Fax a Fraud Reporting form to 916-227-2772

Mail an Underground Economy Operation Lead Referral/Complaint Form DE 660 - English or
DE 660/S/ - Spanish to:

DOL Wage & Hour Violations
Office Names and Locations Contact Numbers
Serving San Bernardino county and portions of
Los Angeles and Riverside counties:
East Los Angeles District Office
US Dept. of Labor
ESA Wage & Hour Division
100 N. Barranca Street, Suite #850
West Covina, CA 91791		 Phone
1-866-4-USWAGE
(1-866-487-9243)
Serving Kern, Santa Barbara,San Luis, Obispo, and Ventura counties and portions of Los Angeles county:
Los Angeles District Office
US Dept. of Labor
ESA Wage & Hour Division
300 S. Glendale Ave., Suite 400
Glendale, CA 91205-1791 		Phone: 1-866-4-USWAGE
(1-866-487-9243)
Sacramento District Office
US Dept. of Labor
ESA Wage & Hour Division
2800 Cottage Way, Room W-1836
Sacramento, CA 95825-1886 		Phone: 1-866-4-USWAGE
(1-866-487-9243)
Serving Imperial, San Diego counties and
portions of Riverside county:
San Diego District Office
US Dept. of Labor
ESA Wage & Hour Division
5675 Ruffin Road, Suite 320
San Diego, CA 92123-1362
 Phone: 1-866-4-USWAGE
(1-866-487-9243)
Serving Orange county:
Orange Area Office
770 The City Drive South
Suite 5710
Orange, CA 92868-4954 		Phone: 1-866-4-USWAGE
(1-866-487-9243)
San Francisco District Office
US Dept. of Labor
ESA Wage & Hour Division
455 Market Street, Suite 800
San Francisco, CA 94105 		Phone: 1-866-4-USWAGE
(1-866-487-9243)
San Jose Area Office
US Dept. of Labor
ESA Wage & Hour Division
60 South Market Street, Suite 420
San Jose, CA 95113-2354 		Phone: 1-866-4-USWAGE
(1-866-487-9243)

Where can I learn about California laws?

The Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition programs hold workshops and educational classes for employers and workers on proper payroll reporting, workplace health & safety requirements, roles & responsibilities under the law, etc. These workshops help you to understand your rights and responsibilities in the workplace under California law. For more information on when these classes are scheduled in your area, click below.

ITEMS UNDER CONSTRUCTION:

Schedule of Workshops
The Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition will be posting in the near future a schedule of workshops specifically for employers and workers in you local community. If your organization is interested in scheduling a workshop in your area, please contact Thelma Snowden at 916-327-9064 or send a request via email at email@labor.ca.gov.
Employer Compliance Checklist
Please visit this section at a later date. In the near future, the Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition will provide an easy-to-use checklist for employers to help you understand which state laws you are responsible for and ensure you are in compliance with those laws.

How is EEEC working?

 

Photos from recent enforcement sweeps in California. EEEC staff are verifying for proper licenses of farm labor contractor, proper workers' compensation insurance coverage, as well as a number of other responsibilities.

Each week, Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition auditors and investigators are working hard in your local communities to help level the playing field for California's businesses and workers. They often collaborate with local government agencies in your communities to target the underground business activities that take advantage of California's most vulnerable workers and generate an unfair competitive advantage over businesses that are following the laws and regulations.

In September 2007, the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency prepared a Report to the California Department of Finance and the California Joint Legislative Budget Committee summarizing the progress of the EEEC since July 2005. This report provides detailed information on the accomplishments and positive results from our new direction to combat California’s underground economy. Currently, the joint enforcement activities are funded through June 30, 2008.

How can I start a career with the EEEC?

The Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition includes many investigators and auditors across the partner programs who work together to help level the playing field for California's businesses and workers. For information on how you may start a career in program enforcement, click