California’s wage and hour crackdown and how to avoid costly violations, Published in Daily Journal Los Angeles

In an article published on May 5 in the Daily Journal Los Angeles, Segal McCambridge shareholder Chelsea Zwart discusses how California wage-and-hour enforcement from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) and the Employment Development Department (EDD) intensified in 2025 and what employers should do now to reduce risk. She highlights procedural factors, including expanded audits around independent contractor classification and the need for proactive, documented compliance efforts heading into Q3 2026.  

"Wage‑and‑hour enforcement intensified in 2025, particularly in construction, logistics, janitorial, hospitality, healthcare subcontracting, and car wash operations. The California Labor Commissioner’s Office (officially known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE)) issued multimillion‑dollar citations,” Zwart explains.  

Key enforcement activity last year, focused on unpaid overtime, meal and rest break violations, inaccurate wage statements, and corporate structures that attempt to evade liability. Employers should prioritize audits of payroll and timekeeping accuracy, independent contractor classification, wage statement compliance, pay data reporting processes, and supervisor training, plus documentation protocols.    

"Growing reliance on technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can assist with the mitigation of risk for wage and hour violations,” said Zwart. “There are programs that can monitor an employee’s activities while they are “on-the-clock”, including attention to the computer screen, location, and online activity.”  

Read the article in full, click here (subscriber-based).