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Committee advances bill to link unpaid wage judgments to license denials
Summary
AB 485 would allow state agencies to deny or withhold business licenses from employers with unpaid wage theft judgments. The committee passed the bill to Appropriations after testimony from workers, labor unions, hospitals and housing groups.
Assemblymember Ortega presented AB 485 at the March 19 Labor and Employment Committee hearing, saying the bill would help workers collect on wage theft judgments by making outstanding judgments a basis to deny or withhold state licenses.
"Even when workers prevail in their wage theft claims, they are often unsuccessful in recovering the stolen money," Ortega said, citing a state auditor finding that the Labor Commissioner's enforcement unit recovered the entire amount in 12% of referred cases between 2018 and 2023. Ortega said the measure is not intended to close businesses but to "encourage…
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