Citing much-needed jail reforms implemented over the past four years, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is asking county lawmakers for more than $8 million to cover growing overtime costs. The request, which will be considered at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, would allocate $8.1 million from the Special Programs Labor Reserve. With little discussion, a county supervisors’ committee last week accepted a report from...

Santa Clara County officials on Tuesday voted to add an additional half million in funding to the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, a move that was applauded by all across the political aisle. Labor activists and former victims of wage theft, sexual harassment and human trafficking were among those in the crowd advocating for the...

Improper hiring, employee or employer misconduct, corruption, favoritism and misuse of public resources. These are just some of the cases the Santa Clara County Whistleblower Program has taken on since it was established in 2010. But now the county’s watchdog office is expanding by adding new staff and updating the intake system for complaints, many of which are filed anonymously by county employees...

A record number of women across the nation ran for political office last year – many first-time candidates – and despite some gender discrimination, the “pink wave” swept four women into top elected offices here in Silicon Valley. Newly-elected county Supervisor Susan Ellenberg remembers how empowered she felt watching Hillary Clinton’s concession speech after the 2016 election....

As he takes the reins of Supervisor Dave Cortese’s office, former San Jose Councilman Don Rocha says he’ll focus on bolstering Santa Clara County finances in the face of potential cuts in federal funding to a county that’s boldly led the resistance against Donald Trump. “No one knows what the White House or Congress is...