A California labor board complaint is where you complain to a state agency that hears and investigates employment disputes about improper actions by your employer. While technically there is not one California agency specifically named “labor board,” there are several state agencies that handle employment grievances.
The two main “labor boards” in California are
- the Labor Commissioner’s Office and
- the Civil Rights Department (CRD), formerly the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).
While the California Labor Commissioner’s Office hears mostly disputes involving wage and hour claims, the CRD’s most common complaints involve employment discrimination and harassment.
Examples of wage and hour violations include your employer:
- failing to pay you the minimum wage,
- failing to pay you overtime, and
- refusing to provide you meal breaks and/or rest periods.
Most discrimination and harassment complaints involve your employer treating you unfairly because of your:
You are not limited to bringing wage and hour complaints in front of California’s Labor Commission. You can also file these complaints:
- in state civil court, or
- with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Similarly, you are not limited to bringing discrimination/harassment claims in front of the CRD. You can also raise these disputes:
- in civil court, or
- with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
You may bring retaliation complaints after raising a labor board complaint. Retaliation is when your employer or co-worker:
- treats you unfairly, and
- does so just because you raised the complaint.
Two examples of retaliation are workplace bullying and immigration retaliation.
Retaliation is unlawful under both California law and federal law.
Our California labor and employment attorneys will address the following in this article:
- 1. What can be reported to the labor board?
- 2. What are the most common employment complaints in California?
- 3. What does the California Labor Commission do?
- 4. Are harassment and discrimination complaints limited to the CRD?
- 5. What are retaliation complaints?
- 6. How do I contact the labor board in California?
- 7. How do I file a complaint with the California Labor Board?
The two main “labor boards” in California are the Labor Commissioner’s Office and the Civil Rights Department (CRD)
1. What can be reported to the labor board?
California has two primary state “labor boards” that hear and investigate employment grievances. These are:
- the Labor Commissioner’s Office (Division of Labor Standards Enforcement -DLSE), and
- the Civil Rights Department (CRD), formerly the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).
The Labor Commissioner’s Office mostly handles disputes concerning:
- unpaid wages and wage claims,
- meal breaks and rest breaks, and
- similar complaints related to your earnings.
The DFEH handles complaints mostly regarding:
- employment discrimination, and
- employee harassment.1
2. What are the most common employment complaints in California?
The two most common employment complaints that get filed with California’s labor boards are:
- wage and hour complaints, and
- discrimination and harassment complaints.
2.1. Wage and hour complaints
As mentioned above, wage and hour complaints under the labor code are filed with the California Labor Commission.
Common wage/hour violations under California law involve your employer:
- failing to pay the minimum wage;
- failing to pay “time and a half” overtime to you (if non-exempt) if you work more than 8 hours in a workday, or 40 hours in a workweek, or 7 days in a row in a workweek;
- failing to pay “double time” overtime to you (if non-exempt) who work more than 12 hours in a workday or more than 8 hours on the 7th day in a row in a workweek;
- failing to pay your final paycheck (which must include unpaid vacation pay) on the last day of work if you were laid off or terminated, or within 72 hours of your last day if you resigned with less than 72 hours notice.
- refusing to provide you (if non-exempt) a 30-minute meal break in 5-hour-plus workdays and a second 30-minute meal break in 10-hour-plus workdays;
- refusing to provide you (if non-exempt) a 10-minute paid rest time period after 3.5 hours and another 10-minute paid rest break after 6 hours;
- refusing to reimburse business expenses;
- refusing to reimburse mileage for driving from the office to a job site, which as of 2023 is 62.5 cents a mile;
- failing to pay you your entire tips or tip pool portions;
- taking out deductions when you did not agree to it in writing – even if you owe the employer money from a loan;
- misclassifying you as exempt from wage/hour requirements; and
- misclassifying you as independent contractors.
2.2. Discrimination and harassment complaints
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits both:
- employment discrimination, and
- harassment.2
2.2.1. Discrimination claims
As to discrimination, the FEHA makes it unlawful for any employer of five or more employees to discriminate on the basis of:
- race,
- gender,
- religion,
- age,
- pregnancy,
- medical conditions,
- genetic information,
- marital status,
- sexual orientation, and
- veteran status.3
Discrimination can take place in a variety of ways. Often, though, it involves your employer treating you differently as to:
- pay and earnings,
- working conditions,
- job duties,
- promotions and advancements, and
- the terms of your employment.
2.2.2. Harassment claims
The FEHA prohibits both:
Non-sexual harassment is when:
- your employer creates, or allows, a hostile work environment, and
- it is one in which you are harassed on the basis of any of the above categories involving discrimination.5
Unlawful harassment can also be based on your:
- immigration status,
- national origin, or
- ancestry.6
Sexual harassment comes in two forms under California State law. These are:
- “quid pro quo” harassment, and
- “hostile work environment” harassment.7
“Quid pro quo” harassment is when supervisors demand sexual favors for a workplace benefit.8
A “hostile work environment” can also constitute sexual harassment. You can bring this type of claim if:
- you are the recipient of unwelcome advances, conduct or comments,
- the harassment is in some sense based on your sex, and
- the harassment is either severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment.9
If you have a legitimate wage/hour claim, you can also file a lawsuit or get in touch with a federal labor agency.
3. What does the California Labor Commission do?
The Labor Commissioner’s hearing officers basically review cases where you seek to recover lost wages or payments from your employer.1 Complaints can also involve wage theft and violations of state sick leave laws.
The Office also handles some retaliation claims. For instance, employers cannot fire, demote, reduce your pay, or suspend you just for filing a labor complaint. (Learn about whistleblower retaliation.)
The California Labor Commission is also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). The DLSE falls under the Department of Industrial Relations and enforces the California labor code.
You are not limited to filing wage and hour complaints with just the Labor Commission in California.
If you have a legitimate wage/hour complaint, you can also raise these complaints by:
- filing a lawsuit in California Superior Court, and/or
- filing a wage claim with a federal agency of the United States.10
A lawsuit allows you to recover any unpaid compensation that your employer may owe.
As to a federal claim, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets forth rules that employers must follow, on a national level, with regard to wages.11
The Act also sets forth a complaint process for you to follow if your employer violates these rules.12 Typically, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor handles these disputes.
You normally have to choose between the three different forums for raising a wage and hour complaint.
Raising these labor law violations with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement has certain benefits. Some of these are that the DLSE:
- is a cheaper alternative to a civil lawsuit,
- can compel witnesses to testify,
- can make employers produce critical employment documents, and
- can make employers pay penalties.
4. Are harassment and discrimination complaints limited to the CRD?
As with wage and hour complaints, you are not limited to just filing harassment and discrimination complaints with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
You can also raise these complaints by:
- filing a lawsuit in Superior Court, or
- filing a federal claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC.gov).
As to a civil lawsuit, you cannot file a claim in Superior Court unless you have exhausted all administrative remedies. This means that you must file a harassment/discrimination claim with either the EEOC or California’s CRD before raising a civil lawsuit.13
Many claimants prefer to raise a discrimination or harassment complaint with the CRD because:
- it is cheaper in comparison to a civil lawsuit, which involves a lot of pretrial preparation and subpoenas
- the CRD can force employers to provide key evidence,
- the CRD can pursue an action against your employer in civil court, and
- the CRD can work with your employer to create more just employment policies and practices.
5. What are retaliation complaints?
“Retaliation” sometimes occurs after you raise a labor board complaint.
Retaliation means that your employer or co-worker:
- takes some kind of unfavorable action against you, and
- does so just because you brought the labor board complaint.
This type of conduct is strictly prohibited under both California law and federal law.
Retaliation can take the form of:
- workplace harassment,
- workplace bullying,
- wrongful termination (or demotion),
- immigration retaliation, and
- failing to pay wages.
6. How do I contact the labor board in California?
To contact the California Labor Commission, click here for a list of local phone numbers, email addresses, and frequently asked questions. The complaint needs to be filed with the correct DLSE offices (listed below):
Bakersfield7718 Meany Ave | San Diego7575 Metropolitan Dr., |
El Centro1550 W. Main St. | San Francisco455 Golden Gate Ave., |
Fresno770 E. Shaw Avenue, | San Jose100 Paseo de San Antonio, |
Long Beach1500 Hughes Way | Santa Ana2 MacArthur Place |
Los Angeles320 W. Fourth Street, | Santa Barbara411 E. Canon Perdido, |
Oakland1515 Clay Street, | Santa Rosa50 “D” Street, |
Redding250 Hemsted Drive, | Stockton31 E. Channel Street, |
Sacramento2031 Howe Avenue, | Van Nuys6150 Van Nuys Blvd., |
Salinas950 E. Blanco Rd., | Van Nuys – Entertainment Work Permits6150 Van Nuys Blvd., |
San Bernardino464 W. Fourth Street, | AB 633- Garment Enforcement Unit320 W. Fourth Street, Click here for more information on garment worker claims. |
| Oakland (Headquarters) | |
To contact the CRD, click here.
7. How do I file a complaint with the California Labor Board?
To make a wage theft complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, click here. You will likely have to fill out Form 1 (initial claim) and Form 55 (wage claim listing amounts owed by your employer per pay period).
To report all other labor law violations, click here. If you are claiming retaliation, you will have to fill out Form RCI-1. There are no filing fees or costs to make a claim.
Within a few months the labor board will schedule a conference where you and your employer (and their attorneys) appear before the commissioner. Once the labor board complaint gets finalized, the labor board will schedule a hearing. It is similar to a trial, complete with introducing evidence and subpoenaed witnesses giving testimony.
Ultimately the hearing officer will issue an order/decision/adjudication (ODA). If one of the parties appeals, the process transfers to a superior court. If you win the hearing and any appeals, the court will issue a judgment. At that point, it is usually your responsibility to collect the judgment.
Before contacting the Labor Commissioner (DSLE), you should have your paystubs and W-2 Form (or 1099 Form). The entire process can span weeks to years, depending on the complexity of the case and whether your employer cooperates. Depending on the case, you may receive money for not only back pay for unpaid wages but also
- interest,
- attorneys’ fees, and
- penalties for liquidated damages, bounced checks, and late paychecks (waiting time penalties).
(To make a discrimination or harassment complaint with the CRD, click here. Alternatively, mail in a complaint or call in the complaint.)
In any case, it is recommended you consult with a labor law attorney before filing a complaint. Attorneys are skilled in how to compose complaints to maximize the odds of success.
For additional help…
Call our California labor law firm to discuss your rights and legal options.
For additional guidance or to discuss your case with a labor and employment lawyer, we invite you to contact our law firm at Shouse Law Group. We provide consultations and bona fide legal advice that you can trust. We assist clients throughout California, including the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Long Beach.
Injured at work? Contact our California workers’ compensation attorneys.
Legal References:
- California Labor Code section 98a. See also Labor Code sections 21, 79, 90, 90.5, 98, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 204a, 204b, 204c, 207, 221, 226.7, 227, 227.3, 510, 558, 1182.12, 1197, 2802. Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, 11040 & 11070. See also Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. v. Lacy (, 2021) 70 Cal. App. 5th 560.
- California Government Code 12900, 12920, 12940 & 12960. See also Labor Code section 98.6. 29 U.S.C. § 631. Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, 11040 & 11070.
- California Government Code 12940a.
- California Government Code 12940.
- See same.
- See same.
- Holmes v. Petrovich Development Co. (2011) 191 Cal.App.4th 1047.
- Mogilefsky v. Superior Court (1993) 20 Cal.App.4th 1409.
- Hughes v. Pair (2009) 46 Cal.4th 1035.
- See, for example, Reynolds v. Bement (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1075.
- 29 U.S.C. 201–219.
- 29 U.S.C. 211.
- California Government Code 12965 GC. As to federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects certain groups from discrimination. Federal law prohibits discrimination on the same basis as set forth under California’s employment laws.