2023-104 The California Labor Commissioner’s Office

This requirement has been established. To ensure consistent implementation, LCO has taken the following steps: The WCA Unit has created 10 new supervisor positions, resulting in two supervisor positions in most field offices. Ultimately, LCO will have two supervisors in each field office to provide more direct support and oversight to hearing officers and conference deputies. Additionally, IT is creating mandatory fields to ensure LCO staff cannot proceed with a wage claim until all required fields are completed. Data analysts are being established in every field office to audit and ensure data accuracy. Furthermore, an additional management dashboard is being created for all new wage cases, allowing supervisors to review and ensure fields are completed and the case is efficiently moving through the wage claim process.

This requirement has been established. To ensure consistent implementation, the LCO has taken the following steps: In addition to the solutions noted in #2 above, the LCO is working with IT to automate additional fields including date of referral and develop training for staff on the new processes. This will allow tracking and monitoring of cases referred to the Judgment Enforcement Unit (JEU). With these changes, the referrals to JEU should include all documentation needed to move forward with the enforcement action. Finally, IT will create coordinating fields to ensure consistent data entry and tracking.

This requirement has been established. To ensure consistent implementation, the LCO has taken the following steps: In addition to the solution noted in #2 above, the LCO redirected a position to serve as a full-time IT position under a compelling management needs assignment (CMNA). This position has been filled by a WCA expert, who is working with system experts to lead and implement the CSA’s recommendations and developing strategies aimed at addressing the backlog.

The LCO engaged a vendor to perform a Business Process Reengineering (BPR) effort to identify inefficiencies and improve the LCO system operations. The BPR provided guides to aid the LCO with automating processes and assessing how to prioritize training areas and tools. LCO’s IT WCA expert is meeting frequently with DIR’s IT leaders to evaluate priorities and to resolve any implementation concerns on existing WCA projects and IT Salesforce change request relevant to improving the system consistent with the BPR recommendations in alignment with the Auditor’s recommendations.

In addition to the solution noted in #2 above, the IT WCA expert filled under a CMNA (see #4) is working to build the LCO team’s capacity on Salesforce by providing extensive training and troubleshooting support for any issues that affect the WCA process. Additionally, data analysts will be established in every field office to audit data, troubleshoot, and make necessary corrections in real time. Statewide expectation standards for all regional managers are being created and implemented to ensure uniformity and clarity among supervisors and staff. Furthermore, an additional management dashboard is being created for supervisors to review and ensure data compliance and accuracy among staff in real time.

In collaboration with DIR, the LCO completed a classification study of the Industrial Relations Representative (IRR) and Deputy Labor Commissioner (DLC) series. The results of the study have been submitted to CalHR for consideration. Additionally, DIR has an active contract for a workload and salary study, which will support LCO studies.

The LCO has worked with HR to streamline the recruitment process by continuing to reduce recruitments to one vacant position per Job Control (JC) number and reducing the number of vacant positions per interview panel.

The LCO is working closely with HR to adjust processes that may mitigate minimum qualification withholds. The outcome of the recent classification study should also help alleviate this issue.

To streamline the hiring process, the LCO will no longer recreate new hiring documents for each recruitment. HR has developed standardized duty statements per position type, a bank of pre-approved interview questions with scoring criteria, and justification memorandum templates.

As mentioned in #7 above, the LCO has completed a classification study for two job series and is awaiting a workload study and finalization of the salary study. Once all studies are completed, the LCO will align the results with the historical data collected on claims received to identify adequate staffing at all levels within the organization.

Once the staffing studies are completed and results are aligned with historical data, LCO will work with HR to identify the appropriate number of supervisors in each area.

LCO will analyze various types of claims, ranging from straightforward single-issue claims to extremely complex multi-issue and employer claims, to determine the adequate time frames these types of claims require. This analysis will include an evaluation to identify contributing factors to case complexity or trends that affect the time frames for these cases. LCO will report these findings in the annual report required under Labor Code section 96.1 for the Legislature’s review.

The LCO has implemented strategies to address these challenges by strengthening infrastructure and increasing recruitment efforts. The Hiring Unit has grown from 3 professionals to 16 (3 managers and 13 analysts), which will improve the quality of recruitment packets and decrease processing times. Additionally, the Career Pathway Program (CPP) has been expanded to California State University Dominguez Hills. Alongside the existing program at UCLA, there will be regular workshops at CSUDH during the 2024/2025 academic year. The primary objectives of the CPP are to demystify the state hiring process and introduce potential applicants to a career at LCO.

IT will create mandatory fields so LCO staff cannot proceed with a wage claim until all required fields are accurately filled out. The LCO will continue hiring supervisors within the WCA unit to provide uniform statewide training, ensuring staff are properly trained to thoroughly and accurately complete all required fields to move through the WCA process. Additionally, the LCO is developing a dashboard for regional managers to review case assignments and ensure cases are equitably and promptly assigned to staff. Regional managers will also be expected to fulfill the expectations outlined in the LCO regional manager expectation memo.

The LCO is creating a dedicated training unit at its headquarters to ensure more standardized and uniform training is provided to staff statewide. This will also establish a centralized database for training records and materials. Additionally, a uniform policy will be created with DIR to ensure supervisors and managers can access and monitor staff training records. The LCO is collaborating with the DIR Training Unit to modernize training modules by including e-learning components and a process to centralize and document the completion of trainings.

In addition to the solution noted in #16 above, the LCO will develop procedures for reviewing all training records and ensuring staff are up to date with all mandatory trainings. The LCO is also collaborating with DIR to engage a vendor to assist in streamlining training material and providing on-demand trainings.

In addition to the solution noted in #16 and #17 above, the LCO is creating capacity to staff a centralized training unit focused on training and ensuring staff are compliant with all necessary trainings.

In addition to the solution noted in #2 above, the LCO is creating procedures within the Judgement Enforcement Unit (JEU) to ensure cases that are referred include necessary information, like dates and amounts of payments collected.

The LCO is developing a standardized operating procedure (SOP) for WCA cases referred to and handled by JEU, with LCO staff receiving in-depth training to reinforce these SOPs. Additionally, mandatory statewide training will be provided for all WCA and JEU staff on all judgment collection methods and practices. Current deputies from every LCO unit and within each field office are being trained as recovery specialists to meet the JEU needs from WCA referrals.

The LCO will review various collection methods to determine which enforcement methods are needed to supplement and strengthen wage recovery efforts. For example, the LCO will evaluate the efficacy of how and to what degree mechanic liens could benefit or increase recovery efforts in certain low-wage industries. This will also include an analysis of the LCO staff required to implement these liens in these low-wage industries.