California Workplace Outreach Project (CWOP) Supplemental Request for Applications (RFA) Program Year (PY) 2026-2027
🏛 Department of Industrial Relations (California)
Can you apply?
This grant is for California-based organizations conducting worker outreach and education on workplace rights and protections. Eligible applicants typically include nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, labor unions, occupational health centers, and agricultural associations. Activities supported include multilingual education, workshops, and direct outreach on workplace safety, wage theft, workers' compensation, and worker protections. Organizations must demonstrate capacity to reach vulnerable workers including immigrants, rural workers, and those in high-risk industries like agriculture, food processing, hospitality, and manufacturing.
This grant is for California-based organizations conducting worker outreach and education on workplace rights and protections. Eligible applicants typically include nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, labor unions, occupational health centers, and agricultural associations. Activities supported include multilingual education, workshops, and direct outreach on workplace safety, wage theft, workers' compensation, and worker protections. Organizations must demonstrate capacity to reach vulnerable workers including immigrants, rural workers, and those in high-risk industries like agriculture, food processing, hospitality, and manufacturing.
Program description
Strategic Components of CWOP 5.0/6.0: Comprehensive Education on Workplace Protections: Expanding the scope included workplace protections to improve workplace safety and health conditions for workers, combat wage theft and protection from retaliation, and provide workers with information on their rights to benefits and medical care for work-related illnesses and injuries. Language: Continuing the commitment to diversity, outreach materials will be accessible in multiple languages, addressing the needs of California’s diverse workforce. Outreach: Utilizing interactive activities to engage workers and employers in meaningful discussions about safety practices, rights, and resources regardless of immigration status. This includes workshops, seminars, and direct outreach efforts. Collaboration: Strengthen ties with CBOs, labor, occupational health centers, and agricultural associations to enhance the reach and impact of the program. Rural Strategic Engagement: Targeted outreach and legal resources to support access to in-person services in under-resourced, rural areas for especially vulnerable workers. Priority Topics: workplace health and safety and hazards such as heat illness, paid sick leave, wage theft, Workers ’Compensation, anti-retaliation protections, worker-related complaints, claim filing processes and procedures, and support filing complaints for workplace non-compliance. High-risk industries: agriculture, car wash, food processing, including meatpacking, food service, including restaurants, grocery, and retail, janitorial and hospitality, warehouse/logistics, manufacturing, garment, residential care, and others as identified by DIR.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
Demographic focus
Details
This grant is for California-based organizations conducting worker outreach and education on workplace rights and protections. Eligible applicants typically include nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, labor unions, occupational health centers, and agricultural associations. Activities supported include multilingual education, workshops, and direct outreach on workplace safety, wage theft, workers' compensation, and worker protections. Organizations must demonstrate capacity to reach vulnerable workers including immigrants, rural workers, and those in high-risk industries like agriculture, food processing, hospitality, and manufacturing.
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- Completed application form
- Project narrative/proposal
- Budget and budget narrative
- Organizational capacity documentation
- Letters of support from partner organizations
- Evidence of experience with worker outreach
Program contact
- 📧 cwop@dir.ca.gov
- 📞 1-510-507-0217
FAQ
Who can apply for CWOP funding?
Community-based organizations, nonprofits, labor groups, and occupational health centers based in California. Agricultural associations and similar entities also qualify.
What activities does CWOP fund?
Workshops, seminars, and direct outreach on workplace safety, wage theft, workers' compensation, and worker rights. Multilingual materials and rural outreach are priorities.
Is there a cost-sharing requirement?
No cost-sharing is required for this grant.
What makes an application competitive?
Strong partnerships with CBOs and labor organizations, focus on underserved rural areas, and demonstrated reach to vulnerable and immigrant workers increase competitiveness.
What is the typical award range?
Awards typically range from $200,000 to $500,000 depending on project scope and organizational capacity.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Emphasize partnerships with established community organizations and labor groups to extend your reach and credibility in worker outreach.
- Clearly identify which high-risk industries and vulnerable worker populations your organization will target.
- Develop a detailed multilingual outreach strategy, including materials in languages reflecting your service area.
- Include specific metrics and evaluation plans showing how you'll measure worker awareness and engagement.
- Address rural access explicitly if your service area includes underresourced communities.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Weak partnerships or collaborations limit reach and competitiveness. Vague outreach plans without specific worker populations, industries, or measurable engagement goals will be rejected. Insufficient attention to multilingual accessibility and rural accessibility needs weakens applications.
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