The Department of Labor has asked the White House Office of Management and Budget to approve a new National Worker Survey that could help it identify industry sectors to target for FLSA compliance.
The survey would collect data from workers, with oversampling in low-wage industries, to estimate the prevalence of noncompliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. OMB is accepting public comments through April 27. A draft of the survey is available here.
DOL notes that approximately 64 percent of Wage and Hour Division enforcement actions stem from worker complaints, so violations may be understated in industries where workers are less likely to file complaints. To address that limitation, DOL intends to use this survey to generate nationally representative data on FLSA noncompliance, particularly in low-wage sectors. The agency said the results will help it prioritize its enforcement, compliance assistance, and outreach by identifying industries, job characteristics, and pay practices that have the most violations.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here. CWC is not planning to submit comments but will reconsider if its members demonstrate sufficient interest. Members may share their input at hello@cwc.org by April 13.