Resources
guides
Worker Rights Guide
Black Worker Rights Resource Guide (2024)
U Good? Wellness Guide
Black Worker Wellness Guide (2023)
hot links
Partners Map
Find our CWOP Partners on this SoCal map.
Tell Your Story
Share your Working While Black story.
intake form
Let us know if you think you've experienced a worker right violation.
Calendar
Subscribe to our SoCal Black Worker Center Network events.
Worker rights resource links
WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY
WAGES & HOURS
Wage theft is when an employer fails to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law.
Initiate the process to recover unpaid wages (statute of limitations applies)
File a wage claim – a Deputy Labor Commissioner will review your individual case and determine if you are owed wages.
Report a Labor Law Violation – if a group of workers are not paid properly, the Labor Commissioner’s Office may open an investigation. Go to dir.ca.gov/covid/if-you-were-not-paid.html for more information.
LEAVE RIGHTS & BENEFITS
Employers are required to take steps to prevent workplace safety and health hazards, including COVID-19. This means employers must have:
- A written Injury and Illness Prevention Plan and a written COVID-19 Prevention Program, effective training for all workers in a language they understand, and procedures for preventing workplace hazards.
- If you cannot work due to COVID-19, inform your employer immediately. You may be eligible to receive paid time off.
ANTI-RETALIATION
Retaliation occurs when an employee engages in an activity protected by law and then suffers an adverse/harmful employment action as a result of that protected activity.
- Examples of protected activities include: filing or threatening to file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner’s office, taking time off to serve on a jury, complaining about a safety or health hazard, and/or refusing to perform work that may be hazardous.
By phone at 833-526-4636
By email at retaliation@dir.ca.gov
In person at any location of the Labor Commissioner’s Office. Find one at dir.ca.gov/dise/districtoffices.htm
Statute of Limitations: within one year of the adverse action
Find more information at dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofileretaliationcomplaint.htm
DISCRIMINATION & ANTI-BLACKNESS
If you experience Medical or Religious Discrimination, contact the California Civil Rights Department at calcivilrights.ca.gov
- How to File a Claim:
- calcivilrights.ca.gov/complaintprocess/
- Statute of Limitations: Within 3 years
Laws that Prohibit Retaliation and Discrimination: dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToFileLinkCodeSections.htm
EEOC: eeoc.gov
How to File a Claim:
Statute of Limitations: Within 100 days.
Find your nearest EEOC office: eeoc.gov/field-office
WORKER'S COMPENSATION
The DWC Information and Assistance Unit provides information and assistance to employees, employers, labor unions, insurance carriers, physicians, attorneys and other interested parties concerning rights, benefits and obligations under California’s workers’ compensation laws. The unit plays a major role in reducing litigation before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) and is often the first DWC contact for injured workers.
Call 1-800-736-7401 option 3 to get connected with an I&A Officer
Tell your supervisor, who should then give you a form to fill out (DWC-1).
If the supervisor does not provide the form, download it at: dir.ca.gov/dwc/iwguides/iwguide01.pdf
LABOR LAW & WORKER'S RIGHTS
The Workplace Rights Ambassador Project (WRAP) is a trauma informed initiative that seeks to build a bridge between LCO and workers who have experienced trauma. Impacted workers are many: some examples are those who have experienced sexual assault, harassment or domestic violence, young workers who have come through the foster system and workers who may have difficulty accessing government services due to language barriers.
- WRAP pamphlet: dir.ca.gov/dlse/WRAP-Brochure-English-AF.pdf
HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED A WORK VIOLATION?
Black Workers who have experienced some kind of worker right violation can fill out this form to allow SoCal BW Hub partner organizations to intake the experience, track the potential violation, and support by facilitating connection with the appropriate agency who may be of assistance with filing possible claims.
Contact the Southern California Black Worker Hub (SoCal BW Hub) at: info@bwhub.org
Have a “Working While Black” Story to Tell?
Through the power of storytelling in film, we will amplify Black voices in the workplace by interviewing real life SoCal area Black workers and present their experiences via a mini docu-series, ending with a mini-doc that we will screen during an in-person #EchoBlackVoices event during our Black August commemoration. Filming kicks off this spring 2024. Look for videos across our social media platforms @socalbwhub.
Share your story at https://bit.ly/echoblackvoicesstorytelling