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More labor enforcement coming

March 26, 2009

The U.S. Department of Labor is adding 250 investigators to its Wage and Hour Division, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced Wednesday after a Government Accountability Office report found the division inadequately responded to complaints.

The report was based on an undercover investigation that included 10 fictitious complaints filed with the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour division.

"The undercover tests revealed sluggish response times, a poor complaint intake process and failed conciliation attempts, among other problems," according to the GAO. "At the end of the undercover tests, GAO was still waiting for [the Wage and Hour Division] to begin investigating three cases — a delay of nearly five, four and two months, respectively."

In one test complaint, an investigator posing as a receptionist complained to the division that he was not paid minimum wage. When contacted by a Wage and Hour investigator, the test employer said she hadn't paid minimum wage but refused to pay back wages due. The investigator accepted the refusal without question and told the person posing as a receptionist that he could file a lawsuit. When asked why the division couldn't do more, the investigator told the receptionist to contact his Congressman to request more resources for the division.

"I take the issues raised by the Government Accountability Office investigation regarding past Wage and Hour Division enforcement very seriously," Solis said Wednesday.

The 250 investigators to be added include 150 that the Department of Labor is already in the process of hiring and another 100 to ensure contractors on federal stimulus-funded projects are complying with laws.