Employer record, U.S. Labor Department investigations

Employment Development Department Wage and Hour Cases in California

Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.Legal notes by Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.

Employment Development Department: 5 investigations, $8,319 in back wages for 74 workers, latest closed Feb 26, 2021.

Every federal wage and hour case closed in California since 2004 and a handful before: 30,596 investigations, 23,910 employers, $472,441,289 in back wages for 335,130 workers.

Employment Development Department wage and hour record at a glance

Employment Development Department appears in 5 concluded Wage and Hour Division investigations in California, closed between Jul 22, 2014 and Feb 26, 2021. 4 of them found violations, 105 in all, and the employer agreed to pay $8,319 in back wages to 74 workers, with no civil money penalty assessed. Of the back wages, $6,834 was unpaid overtime and $0 unpaid minimum wage under the federal standard. The largest single case closed Feb 26, 2021 in Oceanside with $6,834 for 73 workers. That places the employer at #6,416 of 23,910 California employers in the database by back wages.

Industry as coded by the Division: Other State Governmental Facilities. Laws involved: FLSA, FMLA.

Every case, newest first

Case closedPeriod investigatedCityFindingsBack wagesWorkers paidPenaltiesLaws
Feb 26, 2021Feb 2019 to Feb 2021Oceanside74 violations$6,834730FLSA
Jan 16, 2018Feb 2017 to Jan 2018Sacramentono violations found000
Dec 5, 2017Sep 2017 to Dec 2017Sacramento3 violations000FMLA
Aug 19, 2015Aug 2013 to Aug 2015Sacramento4 violations000FMLA
Jul 22, 2014Aug 2012 to Jul 2014Oakland24 violations$1,48510FMLA

Also filed as: State of California.

Local pages: Oceanside employment lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, Oakland employment lawyer.

How to read this record

Each row is one federal investigation. Period investigated is the span of payroll the Division reviewed, usually two years back from the complaint. Back wages is what the employer agreed to pay for that period at the federal rate; penalties went to the government, not to workers.

Back wages computed under the federal law are usually a fraction of the California number for the same hours: the state minimum is $16.90 in 2026, overtime starts after 8 hours in a day, and each missed meal or rest period adds an hour of pay. Workers paid in these cases may still be owed that difference, and the federal release form covers only the federal claim.

Full explainer: what a Labor Department case is, and what it is not.

If you work, or worked, at Employment Development Department

Pull together your pay stubs and your own record of hours for the last three years, request your pay records in writing (the employer has 21 days under Labor Code 226), and keep any WH-58 receipt from a Labor Department payment. A free review tells you in one call whether the California numbers exceed what was paid, whether break premiums and waiting time penalties apply, and whether anything that happened after you complained counts as retaliation. Call (800) 371-3088 or send your stubs.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement database, California cases. Record last checked Oct 30, 2026. Back to the wage theft tracker.

About this data: Cases come from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforcement database (WHD compliance actions concluded since fiscal year 2005, California employers only), published by the Department of Labor and reloaded here every month. "Back wages" are amounts the employer agreed to pay at the close of the investigation; "penalties" are civil money penalties assessed. An investigation that found no violation is listed as such. The database does not include California Labor Commissioner cases or private lawsuits. This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.

Talk to a California employment lawyer today.

Free, confidential consultation. We represent employees only, never employers.