The Fresno City Council on Thursday will consider a resolution that would have the city attorney explore civil and criminal prosecutions of employers committing wage theft.

Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell will introduce a resolution Thursday seeking to grant the city attorney’s office authority to pursue civil and criminal action against employers committing wage theft. 

Maxwell and City Attorney Andrew Janz will host a Tuesday morning news conference to discuss the resolution. They will be joined by Chuck Riojas, executive secretary and treasurer to the Fresno, Madera, Kings, and Tulare Building Trades Council, who will address the impact of wage theft across a variety of sectors, including the building trades. 

Going into effect at the beginning of 2024, Assembly Bill 594 allows public prosecutors, including city attorneys and county counsels, the autonomy to independently prosecute civil or criminal actions for violations of specified Labor Code provisions in their geographic jurisdiction, according to a news release from Maxwell’s office.

The resolution states that “existing resources are insufficient to protect workers or to incentivize legal compliance by employers” on practices including group piece rate, misclassification, cash pay, requiring workers to clock out before working overtime hours and falsifying timesheets.

It goes on to say that such practices not only harm workers, “they also create unfair competition for responsible employers who follow the law.”

The California Chamber of Commerce was opposed to the bill, saying it risks “inconsistent enforcement and with no protection against additional recovery under a subsequent Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lawsuit.”