As reported in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Labor Report, three contractors were found by the California Labor Commissioner to have “willfully” violated state wage and apprenticeship laws.  The contractors were ordered to pay over $1.8 million in back wages, apprenticeship funds, fines and penalties.

The Labor Commissioner’s office, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), adjudicates wage claims, investigates discrimination and public works complaints and enforces state labor law.  In announcing the fines, Commissioner Julie A. Su remarked, “Let these enforcement actions serve as notice that wage theft—whether it be through nonpayment of overtime, failure to pay proper prevailing wage, underreporting of hours worked, bounced checks used to pay working people, and cheating on apprenticeship training funds—will not be tolerated in this state.”