FLSA lawsuits skyrocketing
Wage and hour lawsuits have hit a record high as employee tracking statistics and violations have come to light. The Department of Labor (DOL) has found that 79 percent of complaint investigations uncovered violations. Patricia Smith, the department's solicitor, expressed her concerns about the rising number of abuses against workers across the country.
"Right now I think what we see is nothing short of an epidemic," Smith said.
Smith pointed out that the serious allegations against employers largely involved low-wage workers who are being denied minimum wage and overtime pay.
The findings, reported by the Federal Judicial Center, show that 7,764 FLSA suits were filed from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013.
The DOL dismissed the idea that there was any particular catalyst to spark this increase, leaving the issue open to speculation. Smith emphasized the efforts being made by the DOL to enforce FLSA standards and to work with individual states to correct worker misclassifications. Some states have weaker standards than those federally imposed by the DOL, however, as well as understaffed offices to help combat abuses.
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