1. Labor Commissioner's Office

Workers' Rights Enforcement Grant

The Labor Commissioner's Office is excited to announce it is now accepting Workers' Rights Enforcement Grant applications for Year 2 (August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026).

Do not miss this important opportunity to fight wage theft and help transform harmful workplace practices!

The deadline to submit your Year 2 application is June 2, 2025.

APPLY TODAY!

The state has allocated $18 million to the Department of Industrial Relations, to administer this grant application. There will be two annual grant award cycles totaling $8,550,000 each in 2024-2025 (Year 1) and 2025-2026 (Year 2) to eligible public prosecutors. A “public prosecutor” is a district attorney, city attorney, county council or any other city or county prosecutor who has established a workers’ rights enforcement program. A maximum of $750,000 per applicant per year may be awarded, on a competitive basis. All applications will be considered public documents and subject to a Public Records Request.

Grant funds can only be used for staff salaries and benefits. No other items will be funded, other than the noted annual audit costs.

Timeline

Year 2 Grant Application Timeframe

August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026

Application Open: May 1, 2025
Application Close: June 2, 2025 at 5 PM
Application Inquiries: Email questions to WageTheftGrant@dir.ca.gov
Application Proposals Due: Email to WageTheftGrant@dir.ca.gov by 5 PM on June 2, 2025
Application Awards Announcement: July 1, 2025
Application Funding Period: August 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026
Progress Report: Due January 15, 2026
Annual Impact Report: Due July 31, 2026
Annual Audit: Due October 30, 2026. Up to 5% of grant award can be used to pay for this audit.

Year 1 Grant Application Timeframe

August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025

Application Open: February 29, 2024
Application Close: April 1, 2024 at 5 PM
Application Inquiries: Email questions to WageTheftGrant@dir.ca.gov
Application Proposals Due: Email to WageTheftGrant@dir.ca.gov by 5 PM on April 1, 2024
Application Awards Announcement: May 1, 2024
Application Funding Period: August 1, 2024 - July 31, 2025
Annual Impact Report: Due July 31, 2025
Annual Audit: Due October 31, 2025. Up to 5% of grant award can be used to pay for this audit.

Funding Details

Year 1 Funding for August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025: $8,550,000
Year 2 Funding for August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026: $8,550,000
Maximum Funding Awards: $750,000 per year per recipient
Fund Uses: Staff Salaries/Benefits and Annual Audit Costs

Resources

  • Completed forms and responses to all questions.
  • The Grant Application must not exceed 10 pages.
  • The required Progress Report and Annual Impact Report must not exceed 5 pages each.
  • All inquiries and/or submissions should be sent via email to WageTheftGrant@dir.ca.gov.

What's
New

May 2025