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Lawmakers pressed DIR on vacant‑position eliminations while supporting targeted enforcement staffing increases
Summary
The Department of Industrial Relations defended a statewide vacancy sweep but senators warned eliminating vacant, special‑fund enforcement positions risks worsening wage claim and safety backlogs; DIR separately requested new staff for Cal/OSHA investigations and judgment enforcement to address workplace fatalities and unpaid wage recoveries.
Department of Industrial Relations officials told the subcommittee they carried out a statewide review of vacancies and proposed eliminations under budget control section 4.12 to help build budget resiliency. DIR said the exercise focused on long‑term vacant positions and administrative roles while protecting front‑line enforcement where possible.
Senators expressed repeated concern that removing vacant positions — even if vacant — does not mean they are not needed, citing recruitment and retention challenges in Cal/OSHA and the Labor Commissioner’s wage‑claim and enforcement units. Multiple committee members urged DIR to return with a targeted assurance that those specific eliminations would not worsen the backlog or weaken enforcement; DIR committed to follow up with more detailed analysis.
DIR requested 14 permanent positions and roughly $2.3 million to strengthen Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigation (BOI) to ensure timely, thorough probes of the most serious workplace incidents. Cal/OSHA representatives said BOI prioritizes cases that involve serious accidents caused by serious violations and that investigators interview employers, employees and, when relevant, families. Committee members pressed about timelines and the bureau’s current capacity; Cal/OSHA said fatalities are fewer in number and the requested positions would meaningfully expand investigations of serious injuries and possible criminal liability.
On judgment enforcement, the Labor Commissioner’s office sought 14 permanent positions and ongoing funding to expand its capacity to pursue liens, levies and asset investigations to recover unpaid wages. The Labor Commissioner’s staff reported backlogs by enforcement type (liens ~28,000; levies ~30,000; demand letters ~3,500; in‑depth investigations ~1,500) and said additional staff would help reduce delays and improve collection results.
Lawmakers and worker‑advocacy groups in public comment urged that special‑fund vacancies not be eliminated and requested that the committee maintain or increase enforcement staffing to ensure judgments are meaningful and workers actually recover wages.
Next steps: DIR agreed to return with detailed analyses on which vacant positions were targeted and the anticipated operational impact, and to provide BOI and judgment‑enforcement projections on backlog reduction timelines if requested resources are approved.
