Under the administrative direction of the Chief Deputy to the Attorney General, and the administrative and legal direction of the Chief of Legal Affairs and the Chief Assistant Attorney General, Public Rights Division (PRD), the Senior Assistant Attorney General (SAAG) plans, organizes, and directs the statewide work of the Worker Rights and Fair Labor Section (WRFL) within the PRD of the Department of Justice (Department). The WRFL section brings civil and criminal actions on behalf of the Attorney General and the State of California to uphold workplace standards to protect the State's most vulnerable workers, and preserve a level playing field for legitimate competition in the labor market.

The WRFL SAAG initiates investigations into worker rights, health, and safety issues, especially those that have arisen as a result of the current public health crisis, including in the agricultural, meat processing, and warehousing industries. The SAAG coordinates with senior staff at other state agencies, and others, in focusing efforts on seeking out and stopping wage theft and other activity in the underground economy that poses a sharp risk to workers and law-abiding businesses in California. The SAAG oversees the Section’s litigation and investigations enforcing California's 2019 AB 5, charging the Attorney General with enforcing the rights of workers who have been misclassified as independent contractors, rather than employees, especially in the expansion of the gig economy.  Working directly with the Labor Commissioner and other state agencies and representatives, the SAAG also advances the State's position in courts of appeal on the subject matter of federal preemption of state labor laws.

In addition to the supervision of the Section’s litigation and advice functions, the SAAG serves as a technical expert and primary legal advisor to the Attorney General, Chief Deputy to the Attorney General, the Chief of Legal Affairs, the Chief Assistant Attorney General, client state agencies, and the Governor's Office on complex legal issues impacting worker rights and the People of California. The SAAG develops, recommends, and implements decisions on a variety of significant worker and labor policy issues, including issues that will be decided in litigation before the state and federal Supreme Courts. The SAAG consults with the Chief Assistant Attorney General in the development and formulation of litigation, policy and program objectives, personnel management, and employee utilization; has principal responsibility for personnel management and employee utilization within the Section, and provides direction and guidance to subordinates through the supervising deputy structure. The SAAG may personally assist subordinates in complex litigation, reviews annual budget requests, and performs ongoing programmatic monitoring and reporting functions.

For more information, and to apply, visit their job page.