Nate Hegyi is a reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau. He covers public lands, rural communities and tribal affairs. In 2020, he was the recipient of the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize, which is awarded annually to a public media journalist under the age of 35. His work has aired on NPR, Marketplace, Here & Now, the CBC and the BBC. He can be reached at natehegyi@protonmail.com.
The National Association of Counties has recognized the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs and its partners with a prestigious 2021 Achievement Award in the category of Civic Education and Public Information for the launch of the L.A. County Disaster Help Center.
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office’s newly created Workplace Justice Unit, which investigates and prosecutes workers’ rights cases, was recognized with an achievement award from the National Association of Counties, it was announced Monday.
The unit, established in February, prosecutes cases of unfair business practices, wage and hour violations, payroll tax evasion, wage theft and labor trafficking.
Wage theft crimes may include employers not paying wages earned, paying less than minimum wage, not paying overtime, not allowing workers to take meal and rest breaks, requiring off-the-clock work, taking tips from workers, or misclassifying employees as self-employed independent contractors. Labor trafficking is when a person is forced to provide labor or services through coercion, such as violence, threats, lies, fraud, confiscating legal documents, or to pay a debt.
The National Association of Counties has recognized Missoula County for its innovation and leadership in getting the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority up and running in a push to restore train service to the state’s southern tier.