U.S. Department of Labor seeks to return $3M owed to Puerto Rico workers
The agency stated wages are owed to 6,322 workers on the island.
As the year draws to a close, the U.S. Department of Labor aims to return more than $3 million in recovered wages to 6,322 workers through its Wage and Hour Division’s Caribbean district office. The department is encouraging individuals to use the Workers Owed Wages (WOW) online tool to claim their unpaid earnings.
The agency urges anyone who believes they may be owed wages, or knows someone who might be, to utilize the tool.
“Anyone who uses the WOW search tool can simply input their current or former employer’s name to learn if the division is holding wages on their behalf,” the department stated.
The laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division “provide the foundation for U.S. workers’ rights, including the rights to be paid legally required wages and other important protections,” the agency noted.
“Among the division’s top priorities is putting wages recovered by its investigations swiftly into the hands of people who earned them,” it added
The WOW tool provides an easy way for workers to verify if they are eligible to claim wages owed by a current or former employer. Available in English and Spanish, it covers Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with back wage distribution managed by the Regional Office in Philadelphia.
“The Wage and Hour Division works tirelessly throughout the year to ensure that workers are paid their hard-earned wages,” said José Vázquez, head of the district office in Guaynabo. “Our Workers Owed Wages search tool has allowed us to return millions in wages to workers nationwide, and as we near the end of the calendar year, we’re eager to do even more for people whose wages are waiting to be claimed.”
