Feedback on an LA County Ordinance "Last Paycheck"

Alberto to speak at event on behalf of SBM.

On December 9, 2025, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (“Board”) unanimously approved a motion directing its Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) to provide a written report back on the feasibility of establishing an ordinance that would:

• Require employers to provide a designation form to existing employees and new hires who perform work in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, regardless of immigration status, with which an employee may designate a person who shall be entitled to receive all paychecks due and payable to the employee in the event of the employee's unavailability
• Require employers to deliver employees' paychecks to the employees' respective designees in the event of the employees' unavailability and upon providing sufficient proof of the designee's identity to the employer
• Provide a private right of action by aggrieved persons

The Board also requested recommendations on whether a proposed ordinance can require employers to do the following:

a.     Provide the designation form in the employee's primary spoken language.

b.     Allow employees to freely, without duress, coercion, or intimidation, select a designee of their choosing to receive their final paycheck.

c.     In the event an employee refuses to select a designee for their final paycheck, the employer must obtain the employee's signed acknowledgment that the employee refused to designate a person on the designation form.

d.     Allow employees to establish or modify the designation at any time during the period of employment and for up to one year post separation

e.     Provide existing employees and new hires with notice of their rights regarding the issuance of final paychecks, including the employee’s right to designate someone of their choosing to receive their final paycheck if the employee is unavailable

f.       Retain the signed designation form and records demonstrating notice for a period of one year post separation.

Virtual Sessions

Each session will give opportunity to provide feedback on any element of the motion. DCBA is particularly interested in any input you may have for the following specific questions:

• Should the definition of a designee within the ordinance be limited to a natural person or include organizations, trusts or other entities?
• What must occur before an employer distributes a final check to the designee on the form? How can we best define “unavailability” in relation to employer knowledge of detainment or determination of job abandonment?
• Should the ordinance allow the employee to request the final check be mailed to a designee?  
• Should employers be required to provide employees an annual reminder to review and potentially update the designee form?
• What would the potential impact of an ordinance have on small businesses?
• Are there alternative solutions that the Board should consider to achieve the intended goal of the motion?