Mar 27, 2009

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Solis Responds to GAO Critique of DOL’s Wage & Hour Enforcement

If you missed it, the Government Accountability Office issued a report of its investigation into the Department of Labor’s enforcement of wage and hour laws (that’s overtime and minimum wage stuff, mostly). 

It was not complimentary:

GAO found that WHD frequently responded inadequately to complaints, leaving low wage workers vulnerable to wage theft. Posing as fictitious complainants, GAO filed 10 common complaints with WHD district offices across the country. The undercover tests revealed sluggish response times, a poor complaint intake process, and failed conciliation attempts, among other problems. In one case, a WHD investigator lied about investigative work performed and did not investigate GAO’s fictitious complaint.  At the end of the undercover tests, GAO was still waiting for WHD to begin investigating three cases—a delay of nearly 5, 4, and 2 months, respectively.

Newly-minted Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has released a response, outlining her plans for the investigative unit.   The text of the DOL press release is below.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement:

“I take the issues raised by the Government Accountability Office investigation regarding past Wage and Hour Division enforcement very seriously.

“As secretary of labor, I am committed to ensuring that every worker is paid at least the minimum wage, that those who work overtime are properly compensated, that child labor laws are strictly enforced and that every worker is provided a safe and healthful environment.

“The department’s Wage and Hour Division has already begun the process of adding 150 new investigators to its field offices to refocus the agency on these enforcement responsibilities. In addition, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the agency will hire 100 investigators to ensure that contractors on stimulus projects are in compliance with the applicable laws. The addition of these 250 new field investigators, a staff increase of more than a third, will reinvigorate the work of this important agency, which has suffered a loss of experienced personnel over the last several years.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is the voice for working families, and I am dedicated to ensuring compliance with federal labor laws to both strengthen our economy and protect workers in this country.”

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