Wage Theft Policy Update
Matt Loesch, Acting Public Works Director
Chris Hickey, Division Manager, PW Office of Equality Assurance Item # 3.6
March 28, 2023
Policy Goals
Primary Goal:
Disincentivize wage theft across multiple industries
by eliminating bad actors from bid consideration
and incentivize payment of outstanding judgments
Secondary Goal:
Provide crucial services on an expedient timeline
without having to waive the Policy
2 Why
Revise
Policy
Now?
Current Policy Issues:
• Overly broad criteria for mandatory disqualification lead to unintended impacts
• Staff has to make implementation and enforcement decisions with incomplete and inconsistent information
Moment of Opportunity:
• Labor Commissioner’s Office new public data portal
• Labor Commissioner Judgments go unpaid more than half the time
3 Current
Policy:
Bidder
Disqualification
City shall disqualify if, in the last five (5) years:
• Two (2) or more paid violations
• Any unpaid final judgments
City may disqualify if:
• Only one (1) paid violation in a five-year
period
• Bid Certification is inaccurate
Bids on Public Works projects are exempt
from the current policy
4 Policy Revision Recommendation
Disqualification
• Mandatory :
• “Judgments” means California Labor Commissioner Judgments or Final Decisions • Paid Judgement - Three or more in last three years
• Unpaid Judgements - One or more
• Discretionary:
• Review all judgments and decisions relating to wage and hour violations • Disqualify bad actors based on cumulative wage theft history • Include Public Works Construction
• Maintain requirement to disclose all judgments and decisions 5 Policy Revision Recommendation
Janitorial and Security Guard Services
Proposers not mandatorily disqualified if provide documentation to demonstrate how they will comply with requirements of:
• Wages
• Hours
• Working conditions
• Grievance process for wage and hour claims
Proposers may rely on provisions in a collective bargaining agreement or other documentation • OEA guidance through labor addendum in janitorial and security guard agreements & RFP templates • Current Security Guard Service agreements terminate in 2028 • Current Janitorial Agreements terminate in 2030
6 Policy Revision Recommendation
Certain Services
In lieu of disqualification, City would establish evaluation criterion in RFP process, including:
• Number of judgements or final decisions
• Cumulative dollar amount of judgements/decision
• Number of employees affected
• Size of company
• History of compliance
Example: Banking Services:
• Complexity and large capacity
• Collateralization mandated by state
• Numerous branches (i.e. retail, commercial, investment) 7 Q & A
Matt Loesch, Acting Public Works Director
Chris Hickey, Division Manager, PW Office of Equality Assurance