The War on Wage Theft and the WHD

There's a war on wage theft. The Wage and Hour Division currently has more than 1,000 investigators, an increase of  40% since 2008. According to Nancy Leppink, WHD will never have enough resources to address every complaint or to investigate every employer who may be out of compliance. Because of this, WHD is focusing resources on industries with a prevalence of low wage and vulnerable workers, and targeting industries that have significant levels of non-compliance. Ms. Leppink believes that using directed enforcement initiatives, instead of relying heavily on the individual complaints the agency receives, is a more efficient use of resources that has a greater impact on compliance - both in the targeted industries and overall.

But is the enforcement path WHD has chosen optimal? Some think that this path restricts flexible employment opportunities, fails to provide for the most positive outcome for employers and employees, and focuses primarily on punishing employers. Others think that WHD's shift in regulatory and enforcement tactics have made complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act increasingly difficult for employers. They argue that by focusing resources on extensive and often unnecessary enforcement actions, WHD is failing to help good faith employers comply with the law.