This week, the California Labor Commissioner announced the launch of the Criminal Investigation Unit which will “investigate employers who perpetrate wage theft and other criminal activities against workers.”

Detecting lawbreakers and bringing them to justice is a worthy pursuit, of course, but aren’t there already law enforcement agencies who perform this very work?  And isn’t the nature of this sort of crime easily reported by workers?

These resources should instead be used to detect and prosecute frauds who fake injuries or impairments, and the “medical” facilities enabling them, billing for procedures never performed and over-billing for those actually done.

At present, it seems that employers must bear all the costs of investigating fraud, not only detecting it but also gather sufficient evidence to prove the fraud beyond a reasonable doubt, before local law enforcement will take over.

Certainly, this new unit will accomplish some good, but so long as its focus is the hunt of employers for real or imagined infractions, it will also serve as a vehicle for disgruntled employees to harass their employers with false reports and expensive litigation.  Hopefully, the maiden voyage of this unit will not signal a chill in the water for California’s employers.