By Arcelia Martin
The U.S. Department of Labor recovered upwards of $8 million in back wages for more than 12,000 Texas workers last year and the clock is ticking to get money back into the right pockets.
The agency’s wage and hour division has three years to find the workers who are owed money before the cash is turned over to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Back wages can be accrued when employers violate minimum wage rules, don’t pay workers due overtime or when a worker is wrongfully terminated.
Too much of the recovered money remains unclaimed, said Betty Campbell, the regional administrator for the Southwest region of the wage and hour division.
“Our top priority is to ensure those wages that are recovered in our investigation go directly to these workers,” Campbell said.
The average amount owedto workers in Texas is around $662 per worker. It’s lower than the average $1,100 recovered paycheck for workers nationwide.
In Dallas County, more than 1,600 workers are owed a slice of $1 million of recovered wages. In Tarrant County, more than 780 workers have a share of $550,000 and in Collin County, more than $120,000 has been recovered for nearly 120 workers.
The agency developed an online search tool, Workers Owed Wages, that allows workers to find out if they’re owed any money by entering their employer and their own name, as well as how to receive payment.
The portal operates in English and Spanish and calls to the wage and hour division can be fielded in over 200 languages, according to the Department of Labor. The agency also works with the Texas Workforce Commission and has relationships with different consulates to try to track down workers who are owed money.
The division often has the employer pay the individuals directly and request proof of payment. If the employer cannot locate the worker, the division steps in to try to reach the individual through letters.
Campbell encourages labor advocates, friends and family members to talk to people about the online portal.
“With their assistance, we can reduce that $8 million and pay it out,” Campbell said.
