Resources

Department of Industrial Relations

This website is a parent website for workers and employers to learn about labor regulations, and was established to improve working conditions for California’s workers, to promote profitable employment in California, and to assist small businesses. The site will also lead its users to sites for the Labor Commissioner, Cal/OSHA, Division of Workers’ Compensation, Division of Apprenticeship Standards, Divisions relating to statistics, research, mediation, and similar services, and to various State Boards, Commissions and Programs relating to health, safety, Workers’ Compensation, labor compliance, occupational safety, self-insurance plans, uninsured employers benefits training and education, and small businesses.

Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC)

This website provides access to the regulations and requirements relating to various industries and business sectors, the fair and proper wages to be paid to all employees in each sector, the requirements relating to working hours and conditions in various occupations, trades and industries in which employees are employed in this state, and relating to investigations of the health, safety, and welfare of employees. The IWC issues wage orders, which govern wages, hours and working conditions in California. These Orders must be posted by all employers in an area frequented by employees, where they may be easily read during the workday. Copies of the wage orders may be downloaded. Visitors to the site will find, for example, that, effective January 1, 2008, the minimum wage in California shall be no less than $8 per hour.

Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE)

This website provides information on how to file wage claims and how they are decided and resolved, on how to initiate an investigation of discrimination and public works complaints, and how to seek enforcement of Labor Code statutes and Industrial Welfare Commission orders. It also gives information on the California Office of the Labor Commissioner. The DLSE enforces IWC Wage Orders.

California Employment Development Department (EDD)

This website is tied to the EDD, as one of the largest state departments with employees at hundreds of service locations throughout California. It contains an online job and resumé bank with listings of job openings and candidates, information on filing an Unemployment Insurance, Disability Insurance, or Paid Family Leave claim, payroll tax information and forms for employers, training services, and information relating to other worker claims and employer assistance. In California, the filing of an EDD claim is not a prerequisite to filing of a wage or working conditions claim lawsuit, but can be an alternative to a lawsuit.

California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)

This website contains information on the DFEH, which is the largest state civil rights agency in the USA. The DFEH is responsible for enforcing California’s employment, housing, public accommodations and public service non-discrimination laws, as well as the State’s bias-related hate violence law. Thus, the site contains information on requirements, regulations, standards, claims and enforcement relating to sexual and other harassment, on race, national origin, gender, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation and other discrimination in employment and housing, and about rights, procedures and enforcement under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Unruh Civil Rights Act, Disabled Persons Act, and Ralph Civil Rights Act. The Department has jurisdiction over both private and public entities operating within the State of California, including corporate entities, private sector contracts granted by the State of California, and all State departments and local governments. The DFEH receives and investigates discrimination complaints in its eight California offices. In harassment and discrimination claims, a DFEH filing is a legal prerequisite to filing a lawsuit.

California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA)

This website has information on rules, regulations and procedures relating to protecting workers and the public from safety hazards through its vessel and other inspection programs. It also gives consultative assistance to employers. It has resources relating to citation history of businesses and vessels, enforcement, illness and injury prevention, penalties, permits, registrations and certifications, required and suggested workplace postings, statistics relating to occupational injuries and fatalities, and workplace safety information for employers and workers.

Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB)

This website lists and sometimes explains enforceable standards for insuring safe and healthful workplaces for California workers. The OSHSB is a seven-member body appointed by the Governor, and is the standards-setting agency within the Cal/OSHA program. The Board adopts and provides how to enforce workplace health and safety standards at least as strong as, and often stronger than, federal standards.