The California Labor Board accepts claims from employees in labor disputes over wage laws, overtime or any other alleged violations of labor standards set forth by the state of California. The Labor Board will review your claim, conduct an investigation, hold a hearing if necessary and make a final determination. When awarded a judgment, you yourself can attempt to collect the amount owed, or you can assign the collection of the judgment to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
Take the copy of the judgment to an attorney qualified in recovering judgments against commercial enterprises. Upon award of your judgment, the California Labor Board automatically confers with the civil court system to enter a judgment against the employer. Your attorney will review the judgment and advise you on the best options for collecting from the business.
Read More: What is a Judgment Lien?
File a lien against the bank account of the business. If you received paychecks from the employer, review one of those paychecks to discover who the employer’s bank is. Ask the court entering your judgment to provide you with the required paperwork to file a lien against the business bank account to collect your compensation. Fill out the paperwork, get the lien order from the court, and take it where the employer banks to collect the judgment.
Request the court awarding you the judgment to enter a “Till Tap” to collect the judgment. In California, the court can write an authorization, directing the county sheriff to go to the place of business and collect checks, cash, and receipts totaling the amount awarded in the judgment. Take the written authorization to your county sheriff’s office for execution.
Ask the court to provide you with all paperwork required to file a lien against all assets and property owned by the business. The court will issue the lien once you fill out and return the required paperwork. This will prevent the employer from selling any assets or property without paying you first. You can also transfer this lien to any other jurisdiction if the employer changes business locations, to include out of state.
Assign the judgment to the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement for collection. Inform the Department of Labor that you want to assign the judgment to it to collect. The Department of Labor will follow the same procedures previously outlined and collect the judgment on your behalf.
File a satisfaction of judgment with the court awarding you the judgment, once you collect all compensation owed by the employer. The court will provide you, upon request, with all paperwork for this filing. This is a requirement so that the employer can run its business, free from restrictions caused by the judgment.
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