Board approves last-paycheck measure to speed wages to detained workers’ designees
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Summary
The Board approved a motion to create a county pathway for final paychecks to be delivered more quickly to a worker’s designated recipient when the employee has been detained, deported or otherwise unreachable, while staff will perform outreach and report back on implementation.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 9 approved a motion directing staff to design procedures so workers who are detained or deported can have their final paychecks delivered promptly to a designated recipient instead of waiting for state unclaimed-funds processes.
Board members and county staff said the step was intended to help families who lose access to immediate wages after sudden workplace detentions. The motion—moved and seconded on the hearing floor and approved after public testimony—directs the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs and county counsel to develop a framework for employers to deliver a final paycheck to a designee without triggering liability for the employer.
Rafael Carvajal, director of the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, told the board the department has fielded “a number of issues where families” contact the agency seeking help to retrieve wages and that the office will lean on contract partners such as garment and worker centers for outreach. “We actually have a contract with the Los Angeles worker center that includes the garment worker center, the clean car wash worker center, the Los Angeles black worker center, the Filipino worker center, and a number of other partners that could help us do the outreach,” Carvajal said.
Rose Boston, deputy director of the Office of Labor Equity, described enforcement activity in low‑wage industries and said the problem is widely underreported. She told the board the office is “proactively enforcing” in the home‑care sector and currently has “over 800 cases that we may see issues such as” the inability of detained workers to retrieve pay.
Supervisors framed the item as a narrow, practical change: allowing pre‑designation of a recipient and clarifying employer steps so wages are not routed to the state’s unclaimed‑fund system after a year. A number of labor, immigrant‑serving and business groups urged approval during public comment, describing instances where families lost access to funds right after workplace detentions.
The executive office completed a roll call after public comment and the motion carried (vote tally recorded in the transcript reflects an administrative correction during roll call; the Board approved the motion and directed staff to return with implementation details). Staff will come back with a report describing outreach, required forms and any ordinance language needed.
What’s next: The board asked staff to work with worker centers, faith‑based organizations and community partners on education and to return with written recommendations and an implementation plan.
