How about it's funded by adding a fee to the fines and penalties of what it investigates ? It seems to work well at incentivizing active policing, based on what I know of speed-trap towns.

Take money from the police!

Go for it. Might as well drive ALL the jobs out of the city.

Businesses aren't an bottomless source of revenue. Costs go up, prices go up. Example: the price of a deluxe and fries at Dick's has gone up _twice_ in the last year. Pretty soon prices can't increase any further and businesses start to close or move out of town.

The fines for wage theft should be very severe. The wage theft victim should receive 10 times the amount of stolen wages with a minimum of $25,000. If there is a wage dispute the employee can report it to the city, the city then notifies the employer and he has 10 days to respond by paying up or explaining in an affidavit why the wages were not paid. That way the employer also risks the possibility of a perjury charge if the explanation turns out to be bogus.

@5 Your so-called solution presumes the employee is correct without proof and the employer is guilty based on an accusation. The burden of proof lies with the accuser through the judicial process. The employee, through the city investigator, needs to prove wages were unpaid, not the reverse.

@6....The judicial process would still be used; the employees accusation would prompt an investigation that would determine if charges are filed. The matter could be cleared up very simply; the employer shows that wages were paid (canceled checks, receipts, etc.) if there was no payment or under payment then it could be corrected. I have been a victim of wage theft, about 24 years ago, the amount involved was not that great. I know of cases where a vindictive employer will simply not pay a last wage, as in the case of an employee who quit, the employee goes through the small claims process, at the last minute the employer comes through and pays.
Sometimes the employer only pays partial and then again the small claims process goes through and again the employer pays up. The whole process is done to harass the employee. A system like I suggest could eliminate that and to be fair there should be be equally severe sanctions on those who file deliberately false claims.