Paloma Aguirre speaks during a candidate forum for District 1 county supervisor on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. (Sandy Huffaker for inewsource)

Why this matters

Wage theft surpasses the total financial impact of conventional property offenses across the United States, such as burglary, larceny and vehicle theft. Yet those affected seldom obtain resolution.

Officials in San Diego County have long recognized a core failure preventing workers from collecting wages taken by employers.

The county's internal estimates show more than $30 million in unpaid wage theft rulings have built up in the area since 2017. This sum reflects awards granted to workers that remain uncollected. The process of recovery often proves difficult and extended, with minimal state assistance provided. Despite protective statutes, such cases face infrequent prosecution in the county.

Reforms were expected soon.

During May, Supervisor Paloma Aguirre planned to present a measure designed to strengthen probes into wage theft reports, uphold workplace rules and support recovery of lost pay.

The county's Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement has long handled investigations of unpaid wages, aided workers and aligned enforcement efforts. Officials even created the first Workplace Justice Fund in the nation to offer direct aid to affected employees. Aguirre's plan called for two additional full-time roles in the office, urged identification of funding sources for further worker support and enhanced coordination across agencies.

Yet Aguirre removed the item from the Board of Supervisors agenda without stated reason.

Her spokesperson, Diane Castañeda, attributed the move to unexpected developments. Two events coincided with the scheduled vote: the day following the Islamic Center shooting that claimed three lives, and the absence of Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, the Democratic board chair.

The five-member board operates on a nonpartisan basis, though political affiliations shape its actions in practice. Lawson-Remer's absence at the May 19 session would have left two Democrats and two Republicans to decide the matter.

Aguirre might have resubmitted the proposal at the June 25 session, when no local tragedy occurred and all members attended. She did not.

Neither Aguirre nor Castañeda has clarified the decision. Castañeda noted staff would use the interval to improve the measure before fall consideration, without detailing needed adjustments.

Workers still face long delays for owed amounts.

An inewsource probe found seven caregivers at a Poway elderly care firm each due six-figure payments, for a combined $2 million in judgments. The violations spanned 2019 to 2022. The firm, Wealthplus, holds the area's largest total in such rulings. It continues operations, and founder Xiaoqing Leslie Wang faces no criminal charges.

Type of Content

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.