The final release of annual enforcement data under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by the outgoing Trump Administration’s Labor Department (DOL) shows that complaint activity declined noticeably under both laws in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 (October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020). As is standard practice, DOL did not provide any explanation as to the reasons behind the numbers.
In analyzing the data, we should stress that under both laws, DOL reports only the number of complaints it resolves, not the number of complaints it receives or the number of complaints in its backlog. In addition, both laws provide for a private right of action, meaning that an individual can bypass DOL and go directly to federal court to air his or her complaint.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.