Prima Law Group, Inc. Uncovers Evidence that the California Department of Industrial Relations and AFL-CIO Collectively Contributed Over A Quarter of a Million Dollars to a California Wage and Hour Law Firm
FULLERTON, Calif., May 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California Department of Industrial Relations contributed nearly $230,000 to a law firm based in Los Angeles, California. The contribution was made in 2013 to The Wage Justice Center, a California nonprofit corporation that represents plaintiffs in wage and hour litigation. Prima Law Group, Inc. obtained the information from The Wage Justice Center pursuant to a written request.
According to its website, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) was established in 1927. Its mission is to improve working conditions for California's wage earners and to advance opportunities for profitable employment in California. DIR administers and enforces laws governing wages, hours and breaks, overtime, retaliation, workplace safety and health, apprenticeship training programs, and medical care and other benefits for injured workers. Additionally, the DIR publishes materials, holds workshops and seminars to promote healthy employment relations, conducts research to improve its programs, and coordinates with other agencies to target egregious violators of labor and tax laws in the underground economy.
The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) is a division within the DIR. This division is currently led by Julie Su as the Labor Commissioner. One of the primary missions of DLSE is to independently adjudicate wage claims made by employees against employers. The DLSE hears witness testimony, reviews documents and issues judgments in a quasi-judicial capacity. The employer has an opportunity to appeal any unfavorable decision of the DLSE to the Superior Court, but is required to post a bond in an amount equal to the value of the claim adjudicated by the DLSE. In certain cases the DLSE represents claimants in Superior Court against an employer if the employer appeals the decision of the DLSE. DLSE does not charge claimants when it represents them in Superior Court.
According to tax records filed with the Internal Revenue Service, The Wage Justice Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation that is practicing law in California.
The 2013 tax filings made by The Wage Justice Center also show contributions made by the AFL-CIO in the amount of $58,092. The AFL-CIO is an umbrella federation consisting of 56 separate unions representing 12.5 million workers.
The Wage Justice Center has used funds received from various sources to file and finance litigation against port drayage logistics companies in Los Angeles County. In their filings with the courts, The Wage Justice Center portrays the Labor Commissioner as an independent third party adjudicator that is to be given deference.
Prima Law Group, Inc. is a Southern California business litigation and transactional law firm. Prima Law Group, Inc. has defended numerous port drayage logistics companies from attacks by the Labor Commissioner and The Wage Justice Center in a number of courts throughout Southern California. Prima Law Group, Inc. has also defended companies from protests orchestrated by the Teamsters union in Los Angeles County.
SOURCE Prima Law Group, Inc.
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