CALO News Op-Ed: Protecting L.A.’s Low-Wage Workers Is Key to Ending Homelessness

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Originally published on CALO News

By Armando Gudino, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Worker Center Network

Los Angeles is both the wage theft capital and the homelessness capital of the United States—an unsettling combination that demands urgent action. With over 46,000 people being homeless in the city and nearly 76,000 in Los Angeles County, the crisis is worsening. For low-wage workers, the stakes are especially high. Rampant wage theft, disproportionately affecting workers of color and immigrants, is directly tied to housing insecurity, as income loss is the leading cause of homelessness, outpacing other factors like substance abuse threefold.¹

Wage theft takes many forms, including non-payment of minimum or overtime wage, lack of meal or rest breaks, stolen tips, illegal deductions, misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor, and even complete non-payment. The numbers are staggering: 88% of workers in Los Angeles County endure at least one labor standards violation, including:

  • 80% working unpaid overtime,2
  • 30% being paid less than minimum wage,3 and
  • 80% working through meal and rest breaks.4

Wage theft is not a victimless crime. It’s a tipping point that drives front-line workers—who already face a trifecta of unaffordable housing, unlivable wages, and exploitative working conditions—into homelessness. Half of unhoused Angelenos were employed within four years of losing their home, and nearly one in five had a job within the same quarter they became unhoused.5 These statistics demonstrate the clear and direct link between wage theft and homelessness

The intersection of wage theft and homelessness is particularly acute for the Latino community, which makes up nearly half (48.6%) of Los Angeles County’s population.6 Addressing the needs of Latino individuals at risk of or experiencing homelessness must be a central component of solving Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis.

The True Scale of Latino Homelessness

The scale of homelessness among Latino Angelenos is far greater than traditional metrics suggest. Recent studies reveal that Latino individuals are disproportionately likely to experience “doubled-up” homelessness—sharing housing with others due to economic hardship. An estimated 221,778 Latino residents in LA County live in such precarious arrangements, accounting for 75% of those in doubled-up situations.7 This hidden form of homelessness often precedes literal homelessness, and nearly half of all people entering homelessness in California come directly from these doubled-up situations.8 This underscores the limitations of the Point-in-Time homeless count in capturing the true scale of Latino homelessness and emphasizes the urgent need to address these precarious living arrangements.

The population of Latino individuals experiencing homelessness has increased at an alarming rate. Between 2018 and 2024, Latino homelessness in LA County surged by 76%, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).9 From 2020 to 2022 alone, Latino homelessness in LA increased by 26%, a particularly troubling trend because homelessness among other identity groups actually declined during the same period.10 Nationally, Latino homelessness rose by 28% between 2020 and 2023, while overall homelessness increased by just 12%.11 The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this crisis, disproportionately impacting low-wage Latino workers through job losses, economic instability, and heightened health risks.

The Path Forward: Policy Solutions

The Los Angeles City Council has taken steps to address this issue with the introduction of several motions in 2023 to provide recommendations on how to mitigate this issue. However, more than 16 months later nothing has happened. We need a more concerted effort to ensure we make the necessary changes to protect workers. The Council must:

  • Allow workers to file claims for all Labor Code violations, including rest breaks, meal breaks, and overtime, while holding employers individually accountable.
  • Affirm that the Office of Wage Standards (OWS) is not preempted from enforcing all violations under the California Labor Code.
  • Prioritize claims filed by worker centers and legal service providers representing all workers including undocumented workers.
  • Maintain all OWS positions, fill vacancies, and increase funding to ensure proper enforcement.
  • Establish a one-stop shop for wage theft claims to streamline access to justice for workers.

Addressing Wage Theft is an Investment in LA’s Future

While continued city budget constraints make prioritization a challenge, the link between wage theft and homelessness offers a unique opportunity to tackle two key issues with one coordinated effort. Investing in stronger labor enforcement and protections for low-wage workers can reduce emergency shelter costs, lower public health expenses, and create a more stable economy. Addressing wage theft is not just a moral imperative—it is a practical and cost-effective solution to reducing homelessness.

As Los Angeles prepares to host global events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games, it is critical to ensure that the workers rebuilding our city are treated with dignity and paid fairly and not become targets of nefarious employers looking to exploit workers during this period of heightened economic activity. Los Angeles can lead the way in reducing both wage theft and homelessness by investing in livable wages, robust labor enforcement, and affordable housing.

The time to act is now.

References & Footnotes

  1. Los Angeles Worker Center Network. (2023). Wage Theft and Housing Insecurity in Los Angeles.
  2. UCLA Labor Center & National Employment Law Project. (2022). Wage Theft in Los Angeles: A Crisis for Low-Wage Workers.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Ibid.
  5. California Policy Lab. (2022). Employment and Homelessness in California: A Data Analysis.
  6. U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). Decennial Census: Los Angeles County Demographics.
  7. UCLA Labor Center. (2023). Doubled-Up Homelessness in Los Angeles: A Hidden Crisis.
  8. California Policy Lab. (2022). Paths into Homelessness: The Role of Doubled-Up Housing.
  9. Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). (2024). Annual Homeless Count Data.
  10. Ibid.
  11. National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2023). The Rise of Latinx Homelessness in the U.S.