Punching In: What the Pandemic Has Done to DOL Wage Enforcement

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers

WHD Enforcement Stats | New EEOC Hires

Ben Penn: The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division touted new records when it announced prior-year enforcement stats in October the last two years—but the pandemic has flipped the script.

Preliminary data showed the recovery of minimum wages and overtime pay was down by at least $50 million during fiscal 2020, from a peak of $322 million in the prior fiscal year, according to two sources who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the numbers.

The WHD’s annual enforcement tally previously had risen steadily under ...