Overview
The Wage and Hour Division uses its resources strategically to achieve the greatest impact on workers' lives. With a focus on low-wage and vulnerable workers, we use all available enforcement tools to protect workers' right to be paid their hard-earned wages. By implementing strategies with limited resources to achieve more impact in fiscal year 2024, WHD successfully recovered more than $273 million in back wages and damages for nearly 152,000 workers nationwide. We see the impact of our efforts in the stories of the workers we have helped, changes in labor practices among employers we have investigated, and increased awareness about worker protections. With every back wage check we recover -- and every employer we help with compliance assistance -- we ensure that workers get paid what they earn.
Click the links below to learn about the impacts we made for workers in fiscal year 2024.
Workers helped by WHD
Impact made to workers' lives because of WHD's enforcement:
Franklin was fired from his job at an assisted living facility after requesting overtime pay that he was owed. Then we intervened and recovered $30,000 for him.
Demetria, a housekeeper at a Florida motel, received over $2,000 in back pay after our investigation revealed wage theft violations.
Arnulfo and Jafet, a father-son cleaning team, worked the same shifts, but only Arnulfo was paid. We found they were owed over $31,000 in back wages and damages.
Poleth, a single mother, faced delays and retaliation after confronting her employer about late payments. With our help, she received over $9,000 in back wages for minimum wage, overtime and retaliation violations.
Enforcing Child Labor Laws
Protecting young workers and ensuring their safety is our top priority. In FY 2024, we concluded 736 investigations uncovering child labor violations that affected 4,030 children. As a result, employers were assessed more than $15.1 million for violating federal child labor laws.
Child Labor Enforcement Data
In fiscal year 2024, we concluded 736 investigations that found child labor violations, a 23% decrease from the previous year. We found 4,030 children employed in violation of the law, a 31% increase since 2019, and assessed more than $15.1 million in penalties, an 89% increase from the previous year.
Recent Child Labor Cases
Meat processing machinery: We secured a $4.8 million settlement for 476 California poultry workers denied overtime, including children as young as 14 who were illegally employed in dangerous jobs. The employers must also provide up $1 million in profits tied to these child labor violations.
Forklifts and skid-steers: A Tennessee parts manufacturer paid $296K in penalties and was required to set aside another $1.5 million in profits for illegally employing children in hazardous roles. The employer must also adopt child labor compliance measures, including child labor awareness training.
Meat processing machinery: An Iowa janitorial service paid $649K after for illegally employing 24 children, some as young as 13, in dangerous jobs. The company must also implement compliance monitoring, training and an anonymous reporting hotline.
Protecting Against Retaliation
When a worker stands up and asserts their rights, we protect them from retaliation.
Raising Awareness for Workers and Employers
We make an impact by empowering workers with information about their rights, and by supporting employers with compliance assistance to help prevent violations. Our stakeholder engagement efforts, like our enforcement actions, are key to supporting an economy built on good jobs. Enforcing federal labor laws not only protects vulnerable workers, including those under age 18, but also ensures law-abiding employers are not undercut by those employers who engage in wage theft. Increasing compliance across industries with histories of violations creates safer, better jobs for all workers.
Events and Webinars
Our educational efforts addressed emerging concerns, delivering compliance assistance and workers' rights information. In the past year, we conducted more than 4,700 events, engaging over 609,200 individuals.
Answering Your Call
Driven by a shared passion for service, our team is here to support you. For assistance or to report violations, contact us online or call 1-866-4-US-WAGE. In FY 2024, we received nearly 1.2 million inquiries, offering help in over 200 languages.
Back Wages Recovered by Industry
We're on a mission to ensure working people in the U.S. receive the wages they've earned and that their work is respected. Through national enforcement initiatives and strategic partnerships focused on industries where wage theft is more common, we work every day to ensure workers receive the greatest possible protections. We are committed to using all tools at our disposal to hold employers accountable and achieve the greatest impact. In fiscal year 2024, our impact on workers' lives included the recovery of:
Workers Owed Wages
In fiscal year 2024, we disbursed nearly $22 million through the WOW system, benefiting more than 4,800 workers. Check if you are owed unpaid wages.
When we find violations, our focus is on recovering unpaid wages for employees. In cases where we are unable to locate an employee, we securely hold their back wages for a three-year period, persistently working to find them. If, after three years, our efforts prove unsuccessful, we are obligated to transfer the funds to the U.S. Treasury.
Impact of Back Wages
The money we recover plays a crucial role in supporting workers and their families by enabling them to pay for housing, groceries and other basic necessities.
In fiscal year 2024, our enforcement efforts resulted in more than $202 million in back wages for nearly 152,000 workers. The impact of our wage recoveries averaged $1,333 per worker.
Our investigations focus strategically on low-wage, high-violation industries, such as agriculture, construction, food services, healthcare, retail and others.
Learn more about back wages found for workers in high-violation industries.
$1,333 represents multiple weekly paychecks to typical workers in many industries*
(*based on BLS data for median wage rates and weekly hours per occupation)
5+ Weeks of Groceries
3+ Months of Utilities
1+ Month of Rent
4+ Weeks of Childcare
(*based on BLS data for median wage rates and weekly hours per occupation)