The County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ Wage Enforcement Program has reached a monetary settlement with a business in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County that the Department alleges was not paying 12 employees the correct minimum wage.

Wage Enforcement investigators from the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs determined that Charlie Brown Farms, a business located in unincorporated Littlerock, a community in northern Los Angeles County, had not paid 12 of its employees the correct minimum wage required for work performed in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The business owners reached a settlement agreement with the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs and are working in coordination with investigators to pay all back wages due and penalties owed to the 12 employees. The settlement totals $23,705.54.

“All employees in Los Angeles County deserve to be compensated fairly for their hard work,” said Joseph M. Nicchitta, Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. “Business owners must understand and pay their workers the correct minimum wage. If they’re unsure about their obligations to their employees, they should contact our Wage Enforcement team.”

The Department of Consumer and Business Affairs enforces the minimum wage in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The current minimum wage in unincorporated Los Angeles County is $13.25 an hour for businesses with 26 or more employees and $12.00 an hour for businesses with 25 or fewer employees. Since July 2016, the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs has helped more than 1,250 employees recover more than $186,000 in unpaid wages.

If you work in unincorporated Los Angeles County and believe you are not being paid the correct minimum wage, contact the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs at (800) 593-8222 or visit dcba.lacounty.gov/minimum-wage. The Department also encourages business owners to contact them for more information on compliance or to receive printed materials and required postings free of charge.

Since 1976, the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) has served consumers, businesses, and communities through education, advocacy, and complaint resolution. We work every day to educate consumers and small business owners about their rights and responsibilities, mediate disputes, investigate consumer fraud complaints, and enforce Los Angeles County’s minimum wage ordinance. For more information, visit dcba.lacounty.gov.