DA Pamela Price Signs MOU with the U.S. Department of Labor to Combat Wage Theft and Labor Trafficking in Alameda County
August 13, 2024
OAKLAND, CA — Today, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Wage and Hour Division District Director Francisco Ocampo signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), to maximize the DAO’s enforcement of labor laws administered by the USDOL. The two agencies will collaborate on outreach, education, law enforcement, information sharing, and training.
“The MOU ensures we form a collaborative effort to prevent wage theft,” said Wage and Hour District Director Francisco Ocampo. “We are working together to ensure workers are being paid properly. ”
Deputy DA Geralyn Busnardo leads the prosecution of wage theft cases at the DA’s office and says, “wage theft is a multi-billion-dollar business in the country. It is a global problem that leads to labor trafficking, and it’s impacting the most vulnerable classes of our society.”
“This is a huge opportunity for us to serve the residents of Alameda County,” said District Attorney Pamela Price. “We successfully applied for and received a major grant to fund our targeted effort to address labor law violators, and we are excited to start this work. Under my leadership, the Alameda County District Attorney’s office is fully committed and ready to protect workers’ rights and enforce the critical labor laws.”
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office was awarded a $335,935 grant from the California Department of Industrial Relations, which went into effect on August 1, 2024. The funds will be used to develop and implement a wage theft program to prosecute labor law violators and serve as a deterrent for employers who engage in unlawful employment practices in the workplace.
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Contact: damedia@acgov.org
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is one of California’s largest prosecutors’ offices and is led by Alameda County’s first Black woman District Attorney Pamela Y. Price. Price brings her vision to this office to fairly administer justice in the pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities for every person who steps foot in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code. Price has been recognized as one of the most progressive prosecutors through her forward-thinking, innovative strategies to interrupt cycles of violence and crime and bring change to a criminal justice system rooted in systemic racism. Follow Madam DA on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and @AlamedaCountyda on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.