Jerome E. Horton, Chairman of the State Board of Equalization (BOE), today reminded taxpayers to be wary of misleading business solicitations from companies that mimic official correspondence from a governmental agency. Recently, businesses in California have reported to the BOE that they have received notices from the “California Labor Compliance Bureau,” requesting immediate payment of a “processing fee” of $275. The California Labor Compliance Bureau is not a government agency. The notices use publicly available information such as BOE account numbers and industry codes to make them appear to be official correspondence.
The “processing fee” is purportedly for labor-related notices that California employers are required to post at their business premises informing employees of their legal rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The notices in question are available free of charge from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on their website here: https:// www.nlrb.gov/poster. The BOE is not affiliated in any way with the California Labor Compliance Bureau.
Correspondence from the BOE will always feature the BOE’s title and/or logo and contain contact information. If you receive a notice and question whether it is official BOE correspondence, you should contact your local BOE office (a list of contact numbers for BOE field offices can be found here: http://www.boe.ca.gov/info/phone. htm), or contact the BOE’s Information Call Center at 800-400-7115. The NLRB can assist businesses with questions regarding required notices at 202-273-0064.