$5 Million In Wage Theft Lost Among Santa Clara County Workers

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — With the highest number of wage theft claims in California at more than $5 million since 2015, Santa Clara County is gathering to remedy the pervasive problem that disproportionately affects immigrants and low-wage workers.

The county’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement and its Department of Environmental Health are launching a food permit enforcement program that serve as guidelines for employers to follow the rules.

County dignitaries led by Supervisor Cindy Chavez are hosting a conference at 10:30 a.m. on Monday on the issue at the Luna Mexican Kitchen at 1495 The Alameda, as an example of a San Jose business following the rules, Betty Duong said.

Duong, who runs the county's Labor Standards Enforcement, said the ongoing perception among employers who break the rules is the unwillingness of the immigrants victimized by these employers to come forward because of language barriers or ignorance of the system. Some have told Duong's department they have "threatened with deportation" or "ICE conveniently shows up," she said of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

"That's what we've heard from the victims. They don't know how to navigate the system because they don't know the language it's in," Duong told Patch.

The problem that mainly revolves around the threat of withholding wages due to the employees appears to becoming increasingly worse in a divisive climate in respect to immigrants since Santa Clara County started tracking the problem.

At today's conference, Chavez and Duong will be joined by:

• County Supervisor Dave Cortese
• Miguel Marquez, county chief operating officer
• David Campos, deputy county executive
• Michael Balliet, director of the county of Department of Environmental Health
• Jessica Volmer, representing the Fair Workplace Collaborative
• Angelina Ramos, Luna Mexican Kitchen business director