Actually, it’s not a new police procedural coming this Fall. As I’ve written before, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement now has a Criminal Investigation Unit – with powers
Continue Reading Be Sure to Catch the New Season of CIU – Criminal Investigation Unit!
The DLSE's Growing Arsenal
I have the privilege of participating in a panel discussion on The DLSE’s Growing Arsenal: What Employers Need to Know. Joining me on the panel will be:
- Elliot S. Beckelman, Attorney, Department of Industrial Relations,
Not Satisfied With The Threat Of Crippling Financial Penalties, Labor Commissioner Adds Armed Cops To Her Arsenal
Yesterday, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issued a press release announcing that it was launching a Criminal Investigation Unit to investigate “wage theft and other criminal activities against workers.”
“Wage theft” is part of the DLSE’s new lingo (see, for example, The Wage Theft Protection Act). Presumably, it’s intended to suggest that employers who don’t correctly pay employees are stealing from them, as opposed to being confused about the myriad vague and shifting payroll requirements in California.
So how do you combat crime? With armed cops, of course! “The CIU is made up entirely of sworn peace officers who have completed the police academy[,] . . . report directly to the Labor Commissioner[, and are] . . . permitted to carry firearms.”
The only way I can make sense of any of this is if the sale of the TV rights to CIU: Criminal Investigation Unit will be used to pay down the state’s massive budget deficit.
As I write this, the press release isn’t available online. So I’ll reproduce it below the picture of CIU officers moving in on an employer who miscalculated the regular rate of pay.
