24 | 2023 Cal-Peculiarities ©2023 Seyfarth Shaw LLP www.seyfarth.com IWC [wage] order is entitled to great weight.”46 A court seems to adopt or reject the reasoning of a DLSE opinion letter depending on whether the court independently finds the DLSE’s reasoning persuasive.47 1.5.6 Compliance Monitoring Unit The DLSE’s Compliance Monitoring Unit (CMU) focuses on enforcing prevailing wage requirements on public works. Awarding bodies must notify the CMU, through the Public Works Chapter, each time a public works contract is awarded. 1.5.7 Labor Commission enforcement authority The Labor Commissioner can hold hearings to determine whether an employer is liable for civil penalties.48 Under legislation called “A Fair Day’s Pay Act,” the Labor Commissioner can conduct hearings to determine whether a “person acting on behalf of an employer” should be held personally liable for an employer’s violations, and can seek payment from successor employers. The Labor Commissioner can file liens on property in California for unpaid wages and the other compensation, penalties, and interest owed to an employee.49 The Labor Commissioner can enforce local laws regarding overtime and minimum wage provisions and issue citations and penalties for violations, provided the local entity has not already cited the employer for the same violation. The Labor Commissioner can also issue citations and penalties to employers who violate the expense-reimbursement provisions of Labor Code section 2802.50 The Labor Commissioner or an employee may seek injunctive relief—such as reinstatement pending a claim— upon a mere finding of “reasonable cause” that a violation of the law has occurred.51 The Labor Commissioner may also issue citations to persons it determines to be responsible for violations, directing specific relief.52 The Labor Commission has been given expanded authority as of 2020. New legislation has expanded the appeal and enforcement mechanisms available when the Labor Commissioner cites an employer for violating the Labor Code’s anti-retaliation provisions.53 And the Labor Commissioner can cite employers for failure to pay contract wages when the employer has paid an employee below minimum wage.54 1.6 Employment Development Department (EDD) 1.6.1 General administration The EDD collects payroll taxes for the state and administers programs concerning Job Service, Unemployment Insurance, State Disability Insurance (SDI), Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits, the Workforce Investment Act, and the Welfare-to-Work program. SDI is a partial wage-replacement insurance plan for California workers, funded through mandatory employee payroll deductions. SDI provides short-term benefits to eligible workers who suffer a loss of wages when they cannot work due to a non-work-related illness or injury, or a medically disabling condition resulting from pregnancy or childbirth. The EDD also administers the employee-funded PFL program, which provides partial wage-replacement for employees who are eligible for an otherwise unpaid leave to care for an ill or injured family member, bond with a new child, or participate in certain events because of a family member’s military deployment.55 1.6.2 Payroll tax audits regarding independent contractor classifications As California’s largest tax collection agency, the EDD conducts payroll tax audits of California businesses, often after workers have filed claims for unemployment insurance benefits against businesses that have not paid payroll taxes with respect to those workers. The EDD frequently challenges the classification of workers as independent
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