New Owner, Same Wage Debt: Successor Liability Under AB 3075

Selling the business used to be the escape hatch for wage thieves. California closed it — successors that continue the operation inherit the wage judgments.

What California Law Says

Labor Code section 200.3 makes a successor employer liable for the predecessor’s wage and penalty judgments when it uses substantially the same facilities or workforce, operates in the same trade with a similar customer base, or shares ownership and management.

How to Fight Back, Step by Step

1. Track the transition: same location, same equipment, same crews, similar name.
2. Gather corporate records from the Secretary of State linking the old and new entities and their officers.
3. Enforce your judgment against the successor entity under the statute.
4. Record liens covering the successor’s property.
5. Use a debtor exam to map the transfer of assets between entities.

Common Questions

The new owner claims an asset purchase with no assumed liabilities. Does that defeat me?

Not for wage judgments — section 200.3 imposes liability by statute based on continuation factors, regardless of what the purchase contract says.

The restaurant changed names but the same family runs it. Enough?

Shared management and the same trade at the same location are exactly the statutory factors — document them and proceed.