Labor Agency’s Patchwork Enforcement Has Employers Paying Up

The Labor Department in the Trump administration isn’t backing away from investigations and lawsuits to enforce wage and hour, job safety, and other worker protections, despite also moving to make the DOL more business-friendly.

The department brought in a record $300 million in wage and hour penalties last year and officials say they’re continuing to aggressively enforce workplace safety requirements. At the same time, the DOL also is allowing businesses to “self-report” minimum wage and overtime pay violations, rolling back accident reporting obligations, and opening a new compliance office to help companies understand their obligations.

Those compliance assistance programs have ...