D.o.l.

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George Stolz

George Stolz

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Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
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Service Manager
Has anyone ever dealt with the Dept of Labor in any capacity?

Everyone is familiar with the existence of wage laws - minimum wage, overtime rules, etc.

Who actually enforces these laws, does anyone know? I've been doing a little idle research, and it seems to me that perhaps the laws only exist for a reference for employer/employee private lawsuits, as opposed to there being an agency that actually steps in and assesses fines or whatever.

I thought DOL was like OSHA, which can show up at any time and assess fine for violations, but in my idle surfing, that doesn't appear to be the case. Thoughts?
 
When I used to work for a large company, I know of 2 occasions I was asked personally by them how much I made, how many Apprentices there were to Electricians on the job, but they more than likely only visit larger job sites with a large number of employees.
 
In MA, the DOL is active. Voice a complaint and they will assist/ investigate. I dealt with them as the result of a disgruntled ex-employee.
 
j_erickson said:
In MA, the DOL is active. Voice a complaint and they will assist/ investigate.
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John that is also my understanding based on statements from our payroll personal.

They will not let us 'work through' lunch and leave early as all it takes is one person to complain to the DOL and the company is in trouble.
 
I had some dealings with the US DOL 17 years ago. It wasn't a productive one as they were interested in my problem (1 1/2 times pay for overtime ...) up until they discovered what I was making, then they suddenly lost all interest.

I was told that if I wanted to, I could file suit, but gee, they weren't going to be helping me out at all. They're more interested in helping people at the lower wage scale, which is understandable, but often the people at the lower wage scale are scared to speak up. The end result was that one guy filed suit, the company he sued changed all the rates as our contracts renewed, and so on.
 
georgestolz said:
In these cases, was it the federal DOL or the state DOL that you dealt with?
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It was state, and a very minor issue. Fortunately for me, I was in the right. It's still unsettling to get a call from them.
 
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