Workers Hoping to Secure Minimum Wage Enforcement

Proposition L promised to bring major changes to the city's lowest income earners. Supporters argued it would raise the income of San Francisco's 54,000 lowest paid workers by a total of $100 million a year.

But while thousands of have gained from Prop. L, many workers that could benefit from the ordinance still don't. The main reason * employers can circumvent the ordinance with impunity.

The city's Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) currently lacks a variety of powers and duties necessary to ensure employers adhere to the minimum wage law. OLSE currently doesn't have the authority to issue administrative citations to employers that don't keep adequate payroll records, nor does it have discretion to enforce certain provisions of the state labor code. Additionally, OLSE often doesn't exercise their right to charge the highest penalty fees for minimum wage violations.

Perhaps most importantly, OLSE simply doesn't have the resources and capacity to proactively reach out to low-wage workers and ensure they are being treated fairly. Immigrants comprise over 60 percent of the city's low-income workforce, and often don't report unfair practices for fear of retaliation or because they are unfamiliar with the city's bureaucracy.

Legislation currently before the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee would change all that by both clarifying and expanding the role of the OLSE to make sure Prop. L is enforced, and by creating a nominal annual fee on businesses to fund an expansion of the OLSE.

The Committee heard the legislation last week and continued it until next Wednesday, May 24. It remains unclear if enough support exists on the Committee to make it to the Board of Supervisors for a final vote.

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