Wage theft: grand theft.

Existing law regulates the payment of wages and benefits in the state. Existing law makes violation of specified wage and gratuity provisions a misdemeanor and provides for civil penalties and remedies for the recovery of wages. Existing law defines the crime of grand theft as theft committed when the money, labor, or real or personal property taken is of a value exceeding $950. Under existing law, grand theft is generally punishable either as a misdemeanor by imprisonment in a county jail for up to 1 year or as a felony by imprisonment in county jail for 16 months or 2 or 3 years. This bill would make the intentional theft of wages, including gratuities, in an amount greater than $950 from any one employee, or $2,350 in the aggregate from 2 or more employees, by an employer in any consecutive 12-month period punishable as grand theft. The bill would specifically authorize wages, gratuities, benefits, or other compensation that are the subject of a prosecution under these provisions to be recovered as restitution in accordance with existing provisions of law. This bill would specify that, for the purposes of these provisions, independent contractors are included within the meaning of employee and hiring entities of independent contractors are included within the meaning of employer. By increasing the penalty for a crime and by creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.