Wage Division Reports Banner Year for Fines, Record Low Actions

The US Labor Department’s wage enforcement arm assessed nearly $26 million in fines against employers in 2023, the highest on record in a decade.

The Wage and Hour Division, in charge of policing federal minimum wage, child labor, overtime, and other labor laws, concluded 20,215 compliance actions and recovered about $212.3 million in back wages in FY 2023, data from the agency show. That’s roughly on par with the 20,422 enforcement actions and roughly $213.1 million in back wages collected in FY 2022, but also marks the lowest enforcement year since at least 2013, according to the agency’s records.

Despite ...