Wage Division Enforcement Declines Again in Wake of Hiring Woes

The US Labor Department’s wage enforcement dropped for a fourth consecutive year in 2022 as the agency struggled to recruit new investigative staff.

The amount of back wages recovered by the Wage and Hour Division, the number of employees who received back wages, as well as total number of hours spent on investigations, all dropped in fiscal year 2022 compared to the year prior, according to data published by the agency.

In addition, the average number of days it took the wage division to resolve a complaint increased from 71.38 in fiscal year 2021 to 74.3 in fiscal year ...