Legal Question in Employment Law in California

I am a long-term, W2 contractor in the middle of a wage claim with the DLSE. Last February, the company where I perform my work duties terminated their business relationship with the agency I contracted with (the company that issued my checks for the last two+ years). I was given 30 days to find a new agency, which I did almost immediately. I submitted my resignation / termination letter to my old agency and demanded my final check. No check ever came so I filed a DLSE claim. I had my conference with my former employer in May and settled the claim. They were supposed to pay me in two installments; the first was due at the end of June; the second was due a few days ago. \n\nI got a call from the DLSE deputy two days before the first payment was due, saying he was going to put my settlement agreement \"on hold\" because he\'d heard rumors that the company where I perform my duties might pay me. They are under no obligation to do so, as they are not my employer and have never paid me directly for anything; and even if they did decide to \"gift\" me my outstanding wages, I don\'t think it should have any bearing on my claim against my former employer. The deputy also stated that *if* someone else pays me, my claim will be closed, and I will not be allowed to pursue penalties because I \"still have my job\". It\'s true, I\'m still working at the same site, but I no longer work for the company involved in this claim, and they still owe me three weeks\' pay. In addition, he said that if the people who run my workplace don\'t pay me, the settlement will be void, my case will go to a hearing, and he will force me to name the company where I perform my duties as a co-defendant. I do not want to do this because, as a contractor, they could just tell me not to come back anymore. He is well aware of my feelings about involving the company where I work in this claim, and I feel his insistence on naming them in my claim is a threat to get me to go away.\n\nSo here are my questions:\n\n * Can a DLSE Deputy void a settlement agreement based on the idea that someone else, besides the defendant, *might* pay the employee?\n\n * Can the DLSE dictate who is named as defendants in a wage claim, even if the plaintiff does not want to include them in the claim?\n\nI feel like I have no rights at all, that the DLSE is an advocate for my ex-employer, and no one is on my side. I really need some advice on what direction to take next. PLEASE HELP!

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