News Release
US Department of Labor, Puerto Rico Office of the Comptroller renew agreement to share information, resources on wage issues
Participants: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Partnership description: A Memorandum of Understanding between the Wage and Hour Division and the commonwealth’s Office of the Comptroller continues their collaborative partnership to communicate and cooperate, effectively and efficiently, on areas of common interest to promote compliance with U.S. and the commonwealth’s laws of common concern among the regulated community in Puerto Rico. Activities include sharing jurisdictional information on topics related to both agencies, providing proper support in referrals and conducting joint investigations and cross training of both agencies’ personnel.
Quote: “This agreement continues the mutual efforts of the Wage and Hour Division and the Office of the Comptroller to educate workers and employers and ensure adherence to federal and territorial laws in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,” said Wage and Hour Division Director José R. Vázquez in Guaynabo.
Duration: The agreement is effective until Nov. 23, 2028.
Background: The Wage and Hour Division enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act as well as the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Davis Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes.
The Office of the Comptroller has the ministerial duty to audit all revenues, accounts, and disbursements of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its agencies and instrumentalities and its municipalities, to determine whether they have been made in accordance with commonwealth law.
Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division, or call the Caribbean District Office at 787-775-1947. Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions regardless of where they are from. The department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices — also available in Spanish — to ensure hours and pay are accurate.
