EDINBURG, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will hold a compliance seminar for agricultural employers in Edinburg, Texas, on October 16 and 17, 2019. The seminar will offer employers, company managers, agents, human resources professionals, and other interested parties a chance to hear from and speak directly with federal and state agency representatives and other stakeholders on issues regarding the H-2A and H-2B Foreign Labor Certification programs, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. 

The seminar offers a one-stop training opportunity for attendees to better understand H-2A and H-2B worker visa programs, including wages, recordkeeping, safety and health, housing and transportation and worksite enforcement. In addition to Wage and Hour Division officials, representatives from the Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Workforce Solutions, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are scheduled to attend.

The event is part of WHD’s ongoing effort to increase awareness and improve compliance with agricultural labor law requirements. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. For more information and to register, call 956-682-4631.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave 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. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WEST COVINA, CA – After a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, GI Security Inc. – based in West Covina, California – will pay $309,189 to 126 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found GI Security Inc. failed to pay employees overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Instead, the employer paid employees for their first 80 hours of work each pay period on the payroll, and paid for remaining hours in cash, at straight time rates. The Whittier, California-based employer also failed to record accurately the total number of hours employees actually worked, a violation of FLSA recordkeeping requirements.

"Employers are responsible for ensuring that they pay all employees the wages they have legally earned, and for keeping accurate records of the number of hours they work," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Danny Pasquil, in West Covina, California. "Other employers should use the outcome of this case as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to ensure that they comply with the law. Violations like those in this case can be avoided."

GI Security Inc. provides armed and unarmed security guard services for events throughout Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program.  Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

The mission of WHD is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave 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. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule for tip provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) implementing provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (CAA). The proposal would also codify existing Wage and Hour Division (WHD) guidance into a rule.

The CAA prohibits employers from keeping employees' tips. During the development of those provisions, the Department provided technical assistance to Members of Congress. The Department's proposed rule would allow employers who do not take a tip credit to establish a tip pool to be shared between workers who receive tips and are paid the full minimum wage and employees that do not traditionally receive tips, such as dishwashers and cooks.

The proposed rule would not impact regulations providing that employers who take a tip credit may only have a tip pool among traditionally tipped employees. An employer may take a tip credit toward its minimum wage obligation for tipped employees equal to the difference between the required cash wage (currently $2.13 per hour) and the federal minimum wage. Establishments utilizing a tip credit may only have a tip pool among traditionally tipped employees.

Additionally, the proposed rule reflects the Department's guidance that an employer may take a tip credit for any amount of time an employee in a tipped occupation performs related non-tipped duties with tipped duties. For the employer to use the tip credit, the employee must perform non-tipped duties contemporaneous with, or within a reasonable time immediately before or after, performing the tipped duties. The proposed regulation also addresses which non-tipped duties are related to a tip-producing occupation.

"The proposed rule shows the Department's commitment to ensure that employees' tips are not stolen," said Wage and Hour Administrator Cheryl Stanton. "This proposal offers a clear pathway for both employers and employees to legally operate a tip pool. The Department is also seeking to add further guidelines in order to complement congressional action and solidify current guidance with the benefit of public input through notice and comment rulemaking."

This NPRM is available for review and public comment for 60 days. The Department encourages interested parties to submit comments on the proposed rule. The NPRM, along with the procedures for submitting comments, can be found at the WHD's Proposed Rule website.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the FLSA. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave 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. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

BOSTON, MA – After a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has entered a consent judgment and order requiring three Massachusetts restaurants and two of their owners to pay $355,944 in back wages and liquidated damages to 52 employees to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). They will also pay a civil money penalty of $36,448 because their violations were willful and repeated.

Investigators with the Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that Mavilis LLC, doing business as Coachmen's Lodge in Bellingham; J & D Pizza Inc., doing business as Briggs Corner Pizzeria in Attleboro; and NNMW Inc., doing business as Mediterranean Grill & Pizzeria in Attleboro; and owners Vassilios Nicolos and Nikolaos Nicolos violated the FLSA's overtime and recordkeeping requirements.

The defendants paid tipped employees an overtime premium based on one-and-one-half times the Massachusetts tipped employee cash wage instead of the employees' regular rates of pay. By doing so, the employers made overtime payments to workers at rates lower than those the FLSA requires. They also paid kitchen and grounds employees flat salaries, which resulted in overtime violations because the employers failed to pay the required overtime premium to employees who worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. They also failed to keep accurate records of the number of hours employees worked. 

"Employers in the restaurant and other industries can prevent violations from occurring by reviewing their pay practices to ensure they comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act," said Wage and Hour District Director Carlos Matos, in Boston, Massachusetts. "The U.S. Department of Labor provides many tools to help employers comply with the law. We encourage employers and employees alike to contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance."

"The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to take appropriate legal action to ensure workers are paid the wages they have earned and to level the economic playing field for law-abiding employers," said New England Regional Solicitor of Labor Maia Fisher, also in Boston.

The Division's District Office conducted the investigation. The Boston Regional Office of the Solicitor finalized the resolution of the case for the Division. Read the complaint and consent judgment and order.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the WHD, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave 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. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

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Pizzella v. Mavilis, LLC, doing business as Coachmen's Lodge; J & D Pizza, Inc., doing business as Briggs Corner Pizzeria; NNMW, Inc., doing business as Mediterranean Grill & Pizzeria; Vasilios Nicolos; and Nikolaos Nicolos.

Civil Action Number:  19-cv-11833-WGY

ODESSA, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Juan Vizcaino – doing business as Vizcaino LP in Odessa, Texas – has paid $45,945 in back wages to 22 employees hired under the H-2B temporary visa program and two U.S. workers hired during the recruitment period for guest workers. The employer also has paid $24,120 in civil money penalties to settle the H-2B violations.

WHD found Juan Vizcaino violated provisions of the H-2B visa program after failing to record all the hours that employees worked. When the employer failed to count time spent by employees loading and unloading equipment before and after their scheduled shifts as work time, those unpaid hours resulted in Vizcaino failing to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also failed to provide employees with required earnings statements on a regular basis.

WHD cited additional violations when Vizcaino employed workers outside the geographic area of intended employment that they specified in the temporary employment certification they filed with the Department when hiring the guest workers. The Department also cited Vizcaino for a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) recordkeeping violation for failing to keep required payroll and time records.

"Time spent performing pre-shift duties such as loading equipment or cleaning up at the end of a workday must be recorded. Employees must be paid for all the hours that they work," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Evelyn Sanchez in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Our efforts ensure that employers understand and abide by the provisions of the H-2B program to safeguard American employees against displacement while protecting foreign workers from being paid less than the wages they were promised."

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, electronic toolkits, or in-person visits with local WHD staff.

For more information about the FLSA, the H-2B visa program, and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd, including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave 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. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

FLORENCE, KY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Zang Group Florence Mall Road LLC – operating as Skyline Chili Restaurant – has paid $6,065 in back wages to 26 employees for violating the minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The restaurant also paid a civil penalty of $4,992 for federal child labor violations.

WHD determined Skyline Chili allowed three employees younger than 16 years old to work more hours than permitted and to disassemble, clean, and assemble a power-driven slicer as part of their employment, a violation of FLSA child labor requirements. The employer also failed to pay employees the required federal minimum wage for all the hours that they worked and the correct overtime rate when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The wage violations resulted from the employer’s practice of paying employees working in non-tipped jobs, such as drive-through attendants, the tipped-worker minimum wage of $2.13 per hour. The employer also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements when it failed to maintain records of the number of hours employees worked, and failed to display the required FLSA poster.

“Child labor laws exist to strike a balance between providing meaningful work experience for young people and keeping them safe on the job,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett, in Louisville, Kentucky. “The U.S. Department of Labor encourages all employers to review their employment obligations and to contact us for compliance assistance. Violations like the wage issues and the child labor violations found in this investigation can be avoided.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Superior Seafood & Oyster Bar LLC - doing business as Superior Seafood and Oyster Bar New Orleans - and Superior Restaurant Group LLC have paid $238,300 in back wages and liquidated damages to 222 employees, for violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found the employer failed to combine the hours worked each week by employees who worked in more than one position. The employer did not combine the hours worked for employees who worked in more than one occupation to determine whether they worked more than 40 hours in the workweek and paid them straight time rates for hours which should have been paid at time and one half the regular rate. The employer also failed to include incentive bonuses earned by employees when determining their regular rates of pay to calculate overtime. Excluding those amounts resulted in the employer paying overtime at rates lower than those required by law. WHD also cited the employer for recordkeeping violations.

“Other employers in this industry should use the outcome of this case as an opportunity to review their own payroll practices and make sure they comply with the law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans, Louisiana. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to educating employers and improving compliance with federal wage laws to ensure workers receive the wages they have earned and that employers compete on a level playing field.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, electronic toolkits, and in-person visits to local WHD staff.

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave 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. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.
The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program has put more than $4 million in back wages into the hands of 7,429 employees since the program began last year. The Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), which administers this program, submitted a report today to the Senate Committee on Appropriations outlining PAID's performance to-date.

That report confirms the program's efficiencies – the actions take half the time of other compliance actions but yield ten times the back wages for employees. Since its launch in April 2018, self-audits concluded through PAID collected an average of more than four times what WHD found due for employees in a traditional investigation during that same time period. Actions concluded under this program required less than half the staffing resources of traditional WHD investigations, and found more than ten times the amount of back wages per staff hour invested.

"WHD launched the PAID program as a nationwide pilot with confidence that well-intentioned job creators would use it to do the right thing, get wages into the hands of their employees more quickly, and move forward in compliance," said Wage and Hour Division Administrator, Cheryl Stanton. "That is exactly what has happened. The efficiencies created by this program enable WHD to recover more wages for American workers by focusing on violators. PAID is a win for employees, employers and taxpayers."

The PAID program encourages employers to conduct audits and self-report any overtime or minimum wage violations they discover. WHD does not impose penalties or liquidated damages to finalize settlements for employers who choose to participate in the program, as they proactively work with WHD to resolve their compensation errors, and move quickly to provide 100 percent of the back wages due to their affected employees.

The report presents key findings from an analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected during the implementation of the PAID program, starting April 1, 2018, through September 15, 2019, and suggests that self-audits have allowed WHD to increase back wages delivered to employees with minimal impact on existing priorities and resources . To that end, the agency is working to further the use of the tool in its operations, consistent with its goals, priorities, and data-driven practices. Testimonials from employees and employers benefitting from PAID continue to indicate that the results are overwhelmingly positive.

The PAID program does not limit WHD's ability to enforce federal laws, including the FLSA, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, labor provisions of several temporary visa programs, or the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act.

For more information about the PAID program, the FLSA, and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

WARNER ROBINS, GA – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has led Red Cedar Enterprises Inc. to pay $178,784 in back wages and fringe benefits to eight employees after the employer violated provisions of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), at a Robins Air Force Base work site in Warner Robins, Georgia.

WHD investigators determined the Miami, Oklahoma-based technical support services company incorrectly classified employees performing technical writer duties as production control clerks and other lower-paid job titles. These erroneous classifications resulted in the employer paying these employees at rates lower than those required by law for the work actually performed. WHD also found that Red Cedar Enterprises failed to pay the required fringe benefit rates to some employees after a contract amendment.

"Contractors that bid on government contracts must be aware of and adhere to all applicable laws when paying their employees," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Williams, in Atlanta, Georgia. "We provide a number of tools to help employers understand and comply with the labor requirements on government contracts. Our education and enforcement work in this area levels the playing field for all contractors who perform work for the government."

The SCA requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates, including prospective increases, contained in a predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement.

For more information about the SCA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover FLSA overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave 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. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime, minimum wage and record-keeping requirements at 15 restaurants in Minneapolis' "Eat Street" district during an education and enforcement initiative. The effort will recover $367,359 in back wages and liquidated damages for 162 employees.

Investigators found minimum wage and overtime violations at establishments including: Rainbow Chinese Restaurant & Bar; Black Sheep Pizza; Salsa a La Salsa (Global Market); Salsa a La Salsa (Nicollet Avenue); Marissa's Supermarket & Bakery; El Nuevo Mariachi; Eat Street Social; Los Maizales and Pancho Villa Minneapolis.

WHD conducted the initiative to educate employers, address common FLSA violations, and improve compliance with federal wage laws in the grocery and restaurant industries in the Midwest.

"Initiatives like this one help us collaborate with an industry, determine the root causes of wage violations, and provide compliance assistance that educates employers and helps protect employees," said Wage and Hour District Director David King, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers take home the pay they have rightfully earned, and to providing a level playing field for employers who play by the rules. "We balance rigorous enforcement with robust education and outreach in an effort to help employers avoid violations like those found in these investigations."

In 2018, WHD's education and enforcement initiative included outreach at more than 30 educational events for the Minneapolis' restaurant industry, as well as outreach to industry associations, one-on-one consultations with employers, seminars for small business owners, training for payroll associations and collaboration with worker task forces.

Investigations commonly find violations such as:

• Paying employees fixed salaries without regard to the number of hours they actually worked, resulting in violations when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week yet were not paid overtime;
• Paying for overtime hours at straight time rates, in cash;
• Failing to pay for overtime hours worked in one week, and instead paying them out in shorter, subsequent workweeks at straight time;
• Shaving hours from employees' time and illegally rounding partial hours;
• Failing to count short work breaks as work time; and
• Failing to maintain required time and payroll records.

For more information about the FLSA, and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave 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. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.