Department of Labor implements back wages website

The U.S. Department of Labor has introduced a new website to help employees — who may not have received proper overtime pay or minimum wages — to receive back wages. The site, Workers Owed Wages, is run by the Wage and Hour Division, and is a nationwide database where employees can receive recovered back wages that were collected by the Department of Labor. After searching for their employer in the database, must enter their first initial and last name in order to see if they are owed anything. Employees must then submit a claim to receive back pay. According to the Division, over $1 million is being held in Virginia alone for more than 2,800 workers. The website states that wages will be held for employees for up to three years, and the Department will do its best to locate each individual. (If, after three years, the Department cannot find the person owed, wages will be returned to the U.S. Treasury.) “It’s our priority to collect these back wages and get them into the employee’s hands who earn them,” said Mary Doughty, Director of Operations for the Wage and Hour Division.]]>