Wage and Hour Division: Difference between revisions

{{Organization  

|OrganizationName= Wage and Hour Division

|OrganizationType= Executive Departments (Sub-organization)

|Mission= To promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce, ensuring fair wages, overtime, and workplace protections.

|OrganizationExecutive= Administrator

|Employees= 1000

|Budget=  

The '''Wage and Hour Division''' ('''WHD''') of the [[United States Department of Labor]] is the [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] office responsible for enforcing federal [[labor law]]s. The Division was formed with the enactment of the [[Fair Labor Standards Act]] of 1938.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dol.gov/whd/about/history/whdhist.htm | title=History &#124; U.S. Department of Labor }}</ref> The Wage and Hour mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD protects over 144 million workers in more than 9.8 million establishments throughout the United States and its territories.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/CBJ-2018-V2-09.pdf|title=Congressional Budget Justification, Wage and Hour Division|publisher=US Department of Labor|date=2018|access-date=January 8, 2018}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> The Wage and Hour Division enforces over 13 laws, most notably the [[Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938|Fair Labor Standards Act]] and the [[Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993|Family Medical Leave Act]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/statutes/summary.htm|title=Major Laws Administered/Enforced - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor|website=www.dol.gov|access-date=2019-01-27}}</ref> In FY18, WHD recovered $304,000,000 in back [[Wage|wages]] for over 240,000 workers and followed up FY19, with a record-breaking $322,000,000 for over 300,000 workers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dol.gov/whd/data/|title=Data - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor|website=www.dol.gov|access-date=2019-01-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Department of Labor Delivers Record $322 Million in Recovered Wages For Workers in Fiscal Year 2019 {{!}} U.S. Department of Labor|url=https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20191028#:~:text=News%20Release-,U.S.%20Department%20of%20Labor%20Delivers%20Record%20$322%20Million%20in%20Recovered,Workers%20in%20Fiscal%20Year%202019&text=WASHINGTON,%20DC%20%E2%80%93%20The%20U.S.%20Department,workers%20in%20Fiscal%20Year%202019.|access-date=2020-10-24|website=www.dol.gov}}</ref>

* '''FLSA:''' [[Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938|The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)]] is the federal law commonly known for minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor, recordkeeping, and special minimum wage standards applicable to most private and public employees. FLSA provides the agency with civil and criminal remedies, and also includes provisions for individual employees to file private lawsuits. The 1989 Amendments to FLSA added a provision for civil money penalties (CMP) for repeated or willful minimum wage or overtime violations. (Since 1974, FLSA has contained a similar CMP provision for child labor violations.)<ref name="Statutes">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/statutes/summary.htm|title=Major Laws Administered/Enforced - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor|website=www.dol.gov|access-date=2018-01-07}}</ref>

* '''FMLA:''' the [[Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993|Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)]] entitles eligible employees to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons. At the employee's or employer's option, certain kinds of paid leave may be substituted for unpaid leave. Employees are eligible if they have worked for a covered employer for at least one year, and for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and if there are at least 50 employees within 75 miles. The employee may be required to provide advance leave notice and medical certification. For the duration of FMLA leave, the employer must maintain the employee's health coverage under any group health plan. Upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.

* '''Working conditions''': The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is authorized under 29 U.S.C. 207, et seq. to administer and enforce a variety of laws that establish the minimum standards for wages and working conditions in the United States. Collectively, these labor standards cover most private, state, and local government employment. WHD's mission is to “promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation’s workforce.” WHD is instrumental in promoting access to opportunities— opportunities for employers to compete on a level playing field; opportunities for workers to move into the middle class; and opportunities for workers to balance their family and work obligations. WHD has a nationwide staff of investigators, supervisors, analysts, technicians, and administrative employees who share responsibility for enforcing and administering the minimum wage, overtime, child labor, and break time for nursing mothers provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); the prevailing wage requirements and wage determination provisions of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) and the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA); the wages and working conditions under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA); the job protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); and the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA). WHD also enforces the field sanitation and temporary labor camp standards in agriculture and certain employment standards and worker protections of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). These laws protect over 135 million workers in more than 7.3 million establishments throughout the United States and its territories.<ref name=":0" />

* '''Government contracts:''' The Government Contracts statutes set labor standards for wages and hours of work for employees who work on contracts with the Federal government. [[Davis–Bacon Act of 1931|The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts]] (DBA) & (DBRA) cover workers on Federal construction contracts, and on construction contracts with State and local governments that are Federally financed or assisted, in whole or in part. The [[McNamara–O'Hara Service Contract Act|McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act]] (SCA) applies to workers on Federal service contracts, and the [[Walsh–Healey Public Contracts Act of 1936|Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA)]] applies to workers on Federal supply contracts.<ref name="Statutes" />

* '''MSPA:''' The [[Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act of 1983|Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act]] (MSPA) sets standards for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers regarding wages, housing, and transportation. MSPA requires that contractors of migrant agricultural workers register with the Federal government, and notify prospective workers of the wages and working conditions before they are hired. MSPA also requires that providers of housing to such workers comply with certain minimum standards for health and safety, and that transportation providers have vehicles that meet certain standards for safety.<ref name="Statutes" />

* '''Non-immigrant workers:''' Wage and Hour has certain responsibilities under the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965|Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)]]. These include enforcement of the labor standards protections for certain temporary nonimmigrant workers admitted to the U.S. under several programs (D-1, Crewmembers; [[H-1B visa|H-1B]], Professional and Specialty Occupation Workers; H-1C, Nurses; [[H-2B|H-2B Non-Agricultural Workers]]; and [[H-2A|H-2A Agricultural Workers]]).<ref name="Statutes" />

* '''EPPA:''' The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) prohibits most private employers (Federal, State, and local government employers are exempted from the Act) from using any lie detector tests either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment. Polygraph tests, but no other types of lie detector tests, are permitted under limited circumstances subject to certain restrictions.<ref name="Statutes" />

* '''CCPA:''' The wage garnishment provisions of the [[Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968|Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA)]] protect employees from discharge by their employers because their wages have been garnished for any one debt, and it limits the amount of an employee's earnings that may be garnished in any one week. CCPA also applies to all employers and individuals who receive earnings for personal services (including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses and income from a pension or retirement program, but ordinarily not including tips).<ref name="Statutes" />

* {{Official website}}