SACRAMENTO – On September 27, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed numerous bills into law that are designed to address worker safety and unfair pay practices, including CSLEA-supported Assembly Bill 1003 by Assemblymember Lorenz Gonzalez (D-San Diego).

AB 1002 makes the intentional theft of wages, benefits or compensation in an amount greater than $950 for one employee or more than $2,350 for two or more employees in a consecutive 12-month period punishable as grand theft, which prosecutors could charge as a misdemeanor or felony.

“I commend Assemblymember Gonzalez and Governor Newsom for recognizing the need to combat dishonesty and theft among employers who intentionally take from their hard-working employees,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona. “Employees working hard to make a living deserve every cent they have rightfully earned.”

“I’ve never understood why we don’t hold employers who steal from their workers responsible for their crimes, the same way we treat any other serious theft,” Assemblywoman Gonzalez (D-San Diego) said. “I’m hopeful this bill will finally change that and make bad actors think twice before treating wage theft like a simple business decision. This law sends a clear message: if you intentionally steal workers’ hard-earned wages, you can actually go to prison.”