US Department of Labor, Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office establish partnership to fight wage theft, protect workers’ rights

SAN JOSE, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division District Office in San Jose and the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office in Santa Rosa signed a collaborative partnership to enhance joint outreach efforts and enforcement of labor laws to protect workers’ rights and fight wage theft.

The division’s San Jose District Office will cooperate with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office on cases with jurisdictional overlap, specifically wage theft. The Memorandum of Understanding formalizes this common interaction to help both agencies continue to effectively interact on areas of common interest, including joint investigations and sharing of information and training materials. 

“Our partnership with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office will help maximize and improve the enforcement of laws under our jurisdictions,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco in San Jose, California. “This agreement will also encourage enhanced law enforcement and greater coordination between agencies.”

The five-year agreement will also facilitate joint outreach presentations, cross-training for investigators and staff, and the referral of potential violations of each other’s statutes.

“The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office is looking forward to working with the Wage and Hour Division to better protect our residents from unscrupulous employers,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez in Santa Rosa. “We are dedicated to protecting our workers from all labor crimes including wage theft, fraud and labor trafficking.” 

The Wage and Hour Division enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor regulations, workplace protections for nursing parents as well as other federal labor laws, such as the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Learn more about the laws enforced by the division or contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Calls can be answered in over 200 languages, regardless of where you are from.

Learn more about the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.