The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office officially declared the war on wage theft. The District Attorney’s Office has filed felony complaints against two Korean American business owners from the Fashion District. This action stems from the formation of a new unit dedicated to combating wage theft.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the California Department of Industrial Relations held a joint press conference on September 6 to announce the Labor Justice Unit (LJU), designed to investigate wage theft and unpaid wages.
The LJU, a division of the District Attorney’s Office, consists of prosecutors and investigators who focus exclusively on cases involving wage exploitation, including non-payment of overtime wages, minimum wage violations, illegal deductions, and denial of benefits.
The first employers prosecuted by the LJU are Korean American proprietors of two downtown apparel subcontractors. Soon Ae Park (dob 2/23/59) faces two felony counts of grand theft of wages from different employees exceeding $950, one count of perjury by declaration, and one count of presenting a false or forged instrument. Lawrence Gi Lee (dob 03/29/55) faces three counts of perjury by declaration.
The LJU reports that Park and Lee agreed to pay back wages and settlements to their employees following a 2018 labor agency investigation. However, they did not disclose this settlement in their annual registration documents for garment manufacturers and contractors.
“They even allegedly submitted a falsified registration certificate during a labor compliance investigation by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) last year,” investigator Eduardo Martinez said. The sewing workers were repeatedly victims of wage theft during this time, including not being paid minimum wage and overtime despite working 55 hours a week.
This case is the LJU’s inaugural prosecution of wage exploitation as a felony. Since 2022, a state law (AB1003) has treated wage theft by employers as grand theft, holding them criminally liable for non-payment.
“Under Penal Code (487(m)), it is a felony if an employer withholds more than $950 or more than $2,350 from two or more employees within a 12-month period,” explained Jinni Kang, an attorney specializing in labor law. “The definition of ’employee’ in this law includes independent contractors.”
“This Unit will strengthen our ongoing efforts to end wage theft and labor exploitation by providing a dedicated team of experienced prosecutors and investigators,” District Attorney Gascón commented. “Los Angeles remains the wage theft capital of the country.”
In April of the previous year, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office entered into a cooperative agreement with the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). This partnership allows the DIR, responsible for investigating wage theft, to identify violations via complaints, tips, and investigative findings and to refer records to prosecutors for both civil and criminal prosecution.
BY YEOL JANG, JUNHAN PARK
[jang.yeol@koreadaily.com, park.junhan@koreadaily.com]
