Mission Statement

The Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES) enforces the City’s laws that intentionally work to advance equitable opportunities for its residents. DWES oversees specific laws that protect low-wage workers, who are disproportionately brown, black, and women, from wage-theft and inhumane working conditions. It also oversees laws that strive to maximize the City’s procurement power by providing residents, particularly those from disadvantaged and marginalized communities, with access to quality jobs and contracting opportunities for goods and services. DWES strives to advance the social and economic well-being of City of Oakland residents through high-quality, people-powered public service.

Learn more about who we are and what we do here.

SERVICE IMPACTS & EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS

Reductions

Good jobs and vibrant economy

1. Freezes vacant 1.0 FTE Contract Compliance Officer and vacant 1.0 FTE Contract Compliance Field Technician that support enforcement of local measures on wages. Freezes vacant 1.0 FTE Assistant Contract Compliance Officer who would oversee the compliance programming for Local Business Enterprises/Small Local Business Enterprises (LBE/SLBE) and data collection to assess equity outcomes for the compliance programming. The department currently has 8 vacancies and is offering its services at a lower capacity. Freezing these positions at this point will not impact the department and its current services, but could contribute to limited capacity in the future if the department hires all its existing vacancies.
   • Equity Consideration: This department is responsible for increasing job opportunities for Oakland residents, preventing wage theft, and increasing contracting opportunities for Oakland businesses through supporting them in acquiring various designated business statuses. Due to the high vacancy the department is already experiencing, freezing these positions will not have an undue impact on Oakland’s Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGETARY CHANGES

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

POSITION INFORMATION