2006_Statistics_Fact_Sheet_pdf.pdf: 958 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division

English

eCommons (Cornell Univ.)

2006 Statistics Fact Sheet

DigitalCommons@ILR

Cornell University ILR School 
DigitalCommons@ILR 
Federal Publications Key Workplace Documents 
December 2006 
2006 Statistics Fact Sheet 
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace 
Thank you for downloading an article from DigitalCommons@ILR. 
Support this valuable resource today! 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Key Workplace Documents at DigitalCommons@ILR. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in Federal Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@ILR. 
For more information, please contact catherwood-dig@cornell.edu. 
If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an 
alternate format, contact web-accessibility@cornell.edu for assistance. 
2006 Statistics Fact Sheet 
Comments 
Suggested Citation 
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (2006). 2006 statistics fact sheet [Electronic version]. 
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor. http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/320/ 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/320 
2006 Statistics Fact Sheet 
Wage and Hour Collects $172 Million in Back Wages for over 
246,000 Employees in Fiscal Year 2006 
The Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recovered 
more than $171.5 million in back wages for over 246,000 employees in fiscal year 2006. 
Back wage collections represent a 3.6 percent increase over back wages collected in 
fiscal year 2005. The number of workers who received back wages in fiscal year 2006 
increased by 2.3 percent over the number receiving back wages in fiscal year 2005. The 
agency concluded 31,987 compliance actions and assessed nearly $7.9 million in civil 
money penalties. 
WHD Enforcement Statistics – All Acts FY 2005 FY 2006 Change (05-06) 
Back Wages Collected $166,005,014 $171,955,533  3.6% 
Employees Receiving Back Wages 241,379 246,874 2.3% 
Complaints Registered 30,375 26,256 (13.6%) 
Enforcement Hours 969,776 951,971 (1.8%) 
Average Days to Resolve Complaint 85 93 9.4% 
Concluded Cases 34,858 31,987 (8.2%) 
Over 222,000 Employees Received Fair Labor Standards Act Back Wages 
In fiscal year 2006, more than 222,000 employees received a total of $135.7 million in 
minimum wage and overtime back wages as a result of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 
violations. WHD collected over $120.5 million in back wages for FLSA overtime 
violations and more than $15.2 million for FLSA minimum wage violations. Back wages 
for overtime violations represented roughly 89 percent of all FLSA back wages collected, 
and the number of employees due overtime back wages represented about 87 percent of 
all employees due FLSA back wages. WHD assessed employers $2.9 million in FLSA 
civil money penalties.  
  Cases 
Back 
Wages 
Collected 
Percent of 
FLSA Back 
Wages 
Employees 
Receiving 
Back Wages 
Percent of 
Employees 
Receiving 
FLSA Back 
Wages 
Minimum 
Wage 11,867 $15,228,183 11% 52,701 13% 
Overtime 11,223 $120,500,820 89% 194,811 87% 
COMPLIANCE WITH THE PART 541 OVERTIME SECURITY REGULATIONS 
Of the $135.7 million in FLSA back wages collected, over $13.2 million were collected 
for approximately 12,000 employees for violations of the revised Overtime Security 
regulations (29 C.F.R. Part 541). This compares to $13.6 million collected for 
approximately 10,000 employees in fiscal year 2005. The violation most frequently cited 
was one in which the employee's primary duty was not "the performance of office or non-
manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the 
employer or the employer's customers." This violation of the administrative duty test was 
cited in 353 cases and affected approximately 2,800 employees. 
BACK WAGES COLLECTED FOR WORKERS IN LOW-WAGE INDUSTRIES 
INCREASED 
WHD continues to pursue compliance in low-wage industries that employ young and 
immigrant workers. In fiscal year 2006, the agency collected nearly $50.6 million in back 
wages for approximately 86,700 workers in low-wage industries - an increase of over 10 
percent of back wages collected in the same low-wage industries during the previous 
fiscal year. Over a third of WHD enforcement resources are attributed to investigations in 
nine low-wage industries, which include day care, restaurants, janitorial services, and 
temporary help. 
Low-Wage Industries Statistics Cases Back Wages Employees 
Agriculture 1,410 $1,688,599 2,968
Day Care 911 $1,302,282 4,459
Restaurants 4,342 $16,945,668 29,102
Garment Manufacturing 442 $2,914,067 2,882
Guard Services 664 $10,684,509 10,670
Health Care 1,615 $10,094,948 24,227
Hotels and Motels 864 $2,622,655 4,925
Janitorial Services 528 $3,253,038 4,349
Temporary Help 396 $1,060,895 3,198
Total Low-Wage Industries 11,172 $50,566,661 86,780
   
Low-Wage Industries Statistics FY 2005 FY 2006 Change (05-06) 
Back Wages Collected $45,783,743 $50,566,661 10.4% 
Employees Receiving Back Wages 96,511 86,780 (10.1%) 
Cases in Low-Wage Industries 12,468 11,172 (10.4%) 
LOW-WAGE WORKERS IN THE GULF COAST RECEIVE OVER $1.2 
MILLION IN BACK WAGES 
In fiscal year 2006, WHD opened over 300 hurricane-related cases, which resulted in the 
recovery of more than $1.3 million in back wages for 2,699 employees. WHD has also 
collected an additional $760,000 in back wages on cases not yet concluded. WHD's 
enforcement activities in the Gulf Coast region included investigations of contractors and 
their subcontractors primarily working on debris removal contracts subject to the federal 
McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA). In addition, in New Orleans, WHD 
investigated contractors working on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts to place 
blue tarps over the rooftops of damaged homes. In Gulfport, Mississippi, WHD 
investigated the reconstruction efforts of the casinos located along the Mississippi shore. 
Outreach to the worker community and to federal contracting agencies complemented 
WHD's enforcement in the region. Throughout the prior fiscal year, WHD joined with 
faith-based organizations, community activists, the federal contracting community, 
foreign consulates, and local media to provide outreach and education about the laws it 
enforces to employers and employees of the Gulf Coast region. 
The circumstances encountered in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita provided 
unique challenges to WHD's ability to respond to the changing working conditions and to 
secure the rights of workers in the Gulf Coast region. WHD's immediate actions 
following the hurricanes were geared toward advising the public of federal wage and 
hour laws and assisting workers who had not received their last paycheck. 
Following Hurricane Katrina's landfall, WHD offices in New Orleans, Louisiana, and 
Biloxi, Mississippi, were damaged and closed. Once temporary offices were opened, 
WHD sent five additional bilingual investigators to support the agency's compliance 
assistance and enforcement activities. In January 2006, WHD began rotating up to ten 
additional bilingual (English/Spanish and English/Portuguese) investigators and 
managers from other offices around the country to supplement the activities of the full-
time WHD staff members who report to the Gulf Coast offices.  
NUMBER OF MINORS EMPLOYED IN COMPLIANCE WITH CHILD LABOR 
LAWS 
Results for fiscal year 2006 show a total of 3,723 minors found illegally employed, an 
average of 3.4 minors illegally employed per investigation. The majority of child labor 
violations occurred when workers under the age of 16 worked too many hours, too late at 
night, or too early in the morning. In total, 2,356 minors were employed in violation of 
the child labor hours standards. Hazardous Occupation Order (HO) violations were found 
in a third of the cases with child labor violations. Violations of HO No. 12 (paper balers) 
were the most common type of HO violation found followed by violations of HO No. 10 
(meat slicers), and HO No. 2 (driving). WHD assessed nearly $3 million in child labor 
civil money penalties in fiscal year 2006. 
Child Labor Statistics FY 2005 FY 2006 Change (05-06) 
Self-Directed Child Labor Cases 1,406 952 (32.3%) 
Cases with Child Labor Violations 1,129 1,083 (4.1%) 
Minors Employed in Violation 3,703 3,723 0.5% 
Minors Per Case 3.3 3.4 3.0% 
Cases with HO Violations 396 361 (8.8%) 
Minors Employed in Violation of HOs 1,091 994 (8.9%) 
FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT ENFORCEMENT 
The number of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) complaint investigations 
concluded in fiscal year 2006 declined slightly from investigations concluded in fiscal 
year 2005. The number of violation cases declined by 19 percent from the number in 
fiscal year 2005, and over 26 percent fewer employees were affected by FMLA 
violations. Termination of employees seeking FMLA leave continues to be the primary 
reason that employees filed a complaint. 
FMLA Enforcement Statistics FY 2005 FY 2006 Change (05-06) 
  Number of Complaints 2,784 2,161 (22.4%) 
Nature of Complaint      
  Refusal to Grant FMLA Leave 647 522 (9.3%) 
  Refusal to Restore to Equivalent Position 328 261 (20.4%) 
  Termination 1,132 870 (23.1%) 
  Fail to Maintain Health Benefits 50 31 (38.0%) 
  Discrimination 627 477 (23.9%) 
Status of Compliance Action      
FMLA Enforcement Statistics FY 2005 FY 2006 Change (05-06) 
  No Violation Cases 1,429 1,069 (25.2%) 
  Employer Not Covered 37 39 5.41% 
  Employee Not Eligible 176 152 (13.6%) 
  Complaint Not Valid 1,058 765 (27.7%) 
  Other 158 113 (28.5%) 
  Violation Cases 1,355 1,092 (19.4%) 
  Number of Employees Affected 1,626 1,200 (26.2%) 
  Amount of Monetary Damages $1,867,807 $1,772,342 (5.1%) 
FISCAL YEAR 2007 INITIATIVES 
The long-term reconstruction of the Gulf Coast region will necessitate a strong and 
continuing WHD presence for the foreseeable future. Throughout the next several years, 
WHD will continue to allocate enforcement resources to the region, explore new 
strategies and partnerships to reach vulnerable workers, and pursue all opportunities to 
meet any new compliance challenges that may arise along the U.S. Gulf Coast. 
In addition to this effort, WHD regions have planned regional and local initiatives for 
fiscal year 2007. The initiatives utilized the strategies of compliance assistance, 
partnerships and alliances, and enforcement to increase compliance with the FLSA, 
including youth employment, in low-wage industries. A component of the agency's low-
wage focus will include regional and district initiatives in agriculture to increase 
compliance with the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.  
December 2006 
 
 
 


https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1325&amp;context=key_workplace

2006 Statistics Fact Sheet

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

eCommons (Cornell Univ.)

DigitalCommons@ILR