REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
October 22, 2026
FROM: ANDREW JANZ, City Attorney
City Attorney’s Office
BY: BRITTANIE FECHNER, Law Office Manager
City Attorney’s Office
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant Program:
1. *** RESOLUTION – Adopting the 19th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2026-159 to appropriate $186,200 in Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant Program funding (Requires Five Affirmative Votes) (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council adopt the resolution amending AAR No 2026-159 to appropriate $186,200 in Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant Program carryover funds into the FY 2027 budget for the City Attorney’s Office.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant Program Year Two funding was made available through the State of California, Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) for local enforcement efforts to address local impacts associated with employer wage theft and other exploitative practices in the workplace. The initial Year Two grant period was effective August 1, 2025, through July 31, 2026, with funds in the amount of $750,000. The City Attorney’s Office requested and has been awarded an extension of the initial grant period to expend carryover funds in the amount of $353,000 by December 31, 2026. The City Attorney’s Office anticipated $166,800 in carryover funds for the FY 2027 budget. The actualized carryover funds are $353,000, an increase of $186,200.
BACKGROUND
In July 2023, per AB102, the State of California appropriated $18 million over two years to the Department of Industrial Relation (DIR) to establish a Worker’s Rights Enforcement Grant Program. This program supports local public prosecutors, including district attorneys, city attorneys, and county counsels, in efforts to combat wage theft and address exploitative labor practices statewide.
Wage theft occurs when employers fail to pay workers all compensation legally owed....
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