CA Assembly passes wage theft judgment enforcement bill

Businesses with outstanding wage theft claims would not be able to receive permits or licenses under a bill passed by the California Assembly June 3.

AB 485, authored by Assm. Liz Ortega (D-Hayward) passed with 56 ayes to 7 noes and 16 no-votes- recorded. It will need to pass the Senate, then be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“This bill simply says that if you are an employer who steals from workers, the state will not continue to license your business. If you are an employer who has an outstanding wage theft judgment or judgments, state agencies will deny your application for new business licenses or for renewal of a current license,” Ortega said at a March 19 committee hearing.

Ortega said that workers who win wage theft claims often do not recover their money, citing a 2024 report from the California State Auditor. The auditor’s report said that the Labor Commissioner’s Office only collected the entire amount owed in 12% of cases from 2018 through 2023. A 2022 CalMatters investigation found that $32 million ordered in wage judgments in 2017 have not been paid.

Current law prohibits employers with outstanding wage theft judgments from operating in the state unless the business obtains a surety bond or reaches an agreement with their employee. Ortega said that AB 485 provides a more effective enforcement option, and that a similar judgment enforcement policy is already in place in Santa Clara County.

Kaylyn Dean, representing the California Hospital Association, was the sole speaker in opposition at the hearing.

“We do not condone wage theft. However, we are concerned with the bill’s ability to put a hospital’s license at risk, thereby threatening patients' access to care,” Dean said.

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