The Wage Justice Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 261077468
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- West Hollywood, CA, USA
- Phone
- 2132738400
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Legal Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $570,566
- Expenses
- $971,642
- Assets
- $1,555,713
- Liabilities
- $58,429
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- TANIA MILLAN (EXECUTIVE DI): $150,010 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The wage justice center provides legal representation to low-income workers and extensive legal information and consultation about recovery of unpaid wages. The center also provides education and materials regarding wage rights to low-income workers, advocates, and other community groups.
What it reported doing in 2024
Wages for rent project this project focuses on the tie between sudden financial loss and housing insecurity. The wage justice center provided legal services, education and conducted outreach geared toward preventing wage theft and promoting wage recovery to housing insecure and homeless individuals. Through this work wjc supported individuals in avoiding or overcoming homelessness through education and legal services to recover unpaid wages. Wjc educated more than 3,250 low-income workers on their rights and delivered over 110 legal services, recovering more than 56,000 for workers at risk of losing housing. Through 98 mobile clinics, workers connected directly with attorneys in the field, and 120 workers attended 19 trainings on using mechanic's liens to combat wage theft. Wjc also partnered with 44 organizations across kern. Los angeles, and ventura counties, training 44 staff on tools to help workers secure payment for their labor.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 71% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 92
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 92.7%; rating input score 93
- Fundraising efficiency: $15.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -70.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.6; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.4%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $901K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $150K · 4 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.