Mayor Eric Garcetti will join U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez on this Cesar Chavez Day to talk about ways to combat wage theft and other labor violations affecting workers in Los Angeles.
Perez and the mayor are scheduled to take part in Tuesday’s “A Fair Day’s Pay” forum organized by the Service Employees International Union. The discussion will feature stories from victims of wage theft, and discussion of what can be done to enforce existing laws against it.
Los Angeles workers lose $1 billion from their paychecks through labor violations committed by their employers, according to a UCLA study cited by SEIU. Wage theft could include workers not getting paid overtime, getting misclassified as independent contractors, and getting paid lower than the minimum wage.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, and Los Angeles city councilmen Curren Price and Gil Cedillo will also attend the forum.
The wage theft discussion is happening as a possible minimum wage hike to as much as $15.25 per hour by 2019 is being debated in Los Angeles. City leaders are considering including measures to protect workers against wage theft in the minimum wage hike package, such as the creation of a city enforcement bureau.
The Los Angeles City Council’s Economic Development Committee will hold a public hearing on the wage hike proposal Tuesday in Van Nuys at 6 p.m. at Van Nuys City Hall, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd.
The hearing is the third of four being held around the city, with a final meeting in West Los Angeles scheduled for April 2 at 6 p.m. at the Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Blvd.
The proposal calls for raising the minimum wage from $9 an hour to $13.25 an hour by 2017, to $15.25 an hour by 2019, and higher levels in subsequent years based on the Consumer Price Index.
—City News Service