Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to, among other things, foster, promote, and develop the welfare of wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment.
This bill would require the department, upon appropriation of funds for this purpose, to establish and administer the California Workplace Outreach Project to promote awareness of and compliance with labor protections that affect California workers. The bill would require the department to issue a competitive request for proposal to qualified organizations, as defined, to provide education and outreach services to workers and assist workers who have experienced labor violations. The bill would require qualified organizations to consult with the department to create education and outreach materials informing workers of their rights on priority topics and training materials for workers and organizations. The bill would require the materials to be translated into non-English languages, to be determined by each qualified organization in consultation with the department, as appropriate for the geographic region the qualified organization serves. The bill would require the department and qualified organizations to meet at least twice a year to coordinate efforts around outreach, education, and enforcement.