California. Dept. of Industrial Relations.

Organizational History

The California State Legislature created the Commission of Immigration and Housing by the enactment of Chapter 318 on June 12, 1913. California was following the lead of New York and other eastern states regarding state and federal involvement in the domestic immigration policy movement. The second state agency of its kind in the United States, the governor-appointed commission was responsible for regulating housing conditions and performing immigrant protective functions. The state of New York had established the Bureau of Industries and Immigration in 1912, but within two years, the California commission would take the national lead in promoting the philosophy of adult education and focus attention on the special needs of women immigrants.

In 1912, Simon J. Lubin approached Governor Hiram W. Johnson with the idea for an immigrant protective agency. Lubin suggested that a commission would be important because the opening of the Panama Canal would make California a destination for an increasing number of immigrants. The governor appointed a temporary commission to draw up a bill outlining the responsibilities of the future commission. This bill became the Act of 1913, and empowered the governor to appoint a five-person, unsalaried commission to serve at his discretion. The commissioners and their staff were to research the condition, welfare, and industrial opportunities of all immigrants arriving and living in the state. The agency was granted the right to gather information on agricultural productivity in order to help immigrants secure employment. To protect immigrants, the commission was given the authority to investigate employment agencies, private banking, labor camps, housing, transportation, and the real estate industry. They were also responsible for the education of adult and school age immigrants, and were required to cooperate with the State Board of Education to "provide immigrants with the best opportunities for acquiring education and citizenship."

Four departments were at the core of the Commission's activities: Immigrant Aid, Housing, Labor Camp, and Education programs. Immigrant Aid, originally called the Bureau of Complaints, was responsible for protecting immigrants from exploitation and providing them with advice. If the state was asked to arbitrate between two parties or help to negotiate a suit, a complaint was filed. If immigrants were looking for information, the case was classified as an application. The Housing Program was responsible for inspecting the state's urban housing and reporting violations to local authorities for prosecution. They also worked with local officials and volunteers to build low-income housing for laborers.

The Labor Camp inspection program had the power to prescribe and enforce sanitary regulations for the living and working conditions of persons employed in all migrant labor camps of more than five employees. They also helped to educate employers and employees on public health measures. Most of the agency's work in education involved preparing pamphlets with teaching suggestions, teacher training, and demonstration programs. The commission pioneered a home teacher program and a foreign language agent program. Due to legislative decision, the commission gave up their responsibility in this area in 1920, and the program became part of the California Department of Education.

In addition to these major programs, the Division established the Auto Camp program in 1929 to assist with the growing needs of a transient population, and expanded to include trailer camps in 1937. The commission was responsible for enforcing the terms of the Health and Safety Code and inspecting auto and trailer camps, and prosecuted any violations in superior court.

The Commission of Immigration and Housing began as an independent agency, reporting only to the Board of Commissioners and the governor. This practice continued from the inception of the Commission in 1912 until 1921. From 1921 to 1927, the Commission was managed by the Division of Housing and Sanitation, and from 1927 to 1945 was renamed the Division of Immigration and Housing, operating within the Department of Industrial Relations. The headquarters was in San Francisco, with branch offices in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield. During the early years of the program, the commission also utilized volunteer agents located in private offices in San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo; this volunteer program was discontinued in February 1915.

The United States' participation in World War II changed the focus of the Division and the state mandated the agency to be responsible for the transport of Japanese Americans to relocation centers. Public interest in immigration and migrant labor was replaced by the war effort, and as American defense production demands increased, migrant laborers moved out of the fields and into defense work. Changes in leadership led to a restructuring of the Division, and in 1944 their immigrant protection powers were abolished. The Division was dissolved in October 1945.

From the guide to the California. Dept. of Industrial Relations. Division of Immigration and Housing records, 1912-1939, (The Bancroft Library.)

Agency History

In 1927 the Legislature coalesced formerly independent enforcement and service agencies responsible for labor-management functions into the Department of Industrial Relations in order to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, improve the working conditions and advance their opportunities for profitable employment ( Stats. 1927, ch. 440). Initially, the work of the department was distributed among five divisions whose titles indicated their respective functions: Industrial Accidents and Safety, Housing and Sanitation, State Employment Agencies, Labor Statistics and Law Enforcement, and Industrial Welfare. The Director of Industrial Relations coordinated the activities of each division chief.

Subsequent changes resulted in the assimilation of the Division of Housing and Sanitation into a reconstituted Division of Immigration and Housing ( Stats. 1931, ch. 597), and in the transfer of the Division of State Employment Agencies to the newly created Department of Employment ( Stats. 1935, ch. 352). In 1945 a major reorganization of the department was proposed by Governor Warren and approved by the Legislature ( Stats. 1945, ch. 1431). The Division of Fire Safety, established in 1929, was transferred out of the department to become an independent agency. With the immigrant aid features repealed, the Division of Immigration and Housing became the Division of Housing, and functioned through a five-member Commission of Housing until the division was absorbed into the new Department of Housing and Community Development in 1965. Statistical functions were delegated to a restructured Division of Labor Statistics and Research, and investigative and labor law enforcement cuties were retained in the renamed Division of Labor Law Enforcement. In 1975 the functions and responsibilities of the Divisions of Labor Law Enforcement and Industrial Welfare were consolicated into a new Division of Labor Standards Enforcement ( Stats. 1975, Appendix, Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1975). Likewise, the Division of Industrial Safety assumed its separate identity together with an Industrial Safety Board composed of the Director of Industrial Relations and four appointees. A distinct Division of Industrial Accidents continued to administer the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation, Insurance and Safety Act through augmentation of the membership of the Industrial Accident Commission ( Stats. 1913, ch. 561) in two locations, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The State Compensation Insurance Fund (established concurrently with the Industrial Accident Commission) was removed from the Division of Industrial Accidents and assumed independent jurisdiction. The Division of Apprenticeship Standards and the Office of Self Insurers were added to the department.

The State Conciliation Service was established ( Stats. 1947, ch. 1049) to investigate and mediate labor disputes, and the Division of Fair Employment Practices ( Stats. 1959, ch. 121) was organized to provide essential staff services for the Fair Employment Practice Commission. Organizational and administrative details are provided in the sections which follow.

From the guide to the Dept. of Industrial Relations Records, (California State Archives)