Focusing on education to ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, on August 28, 2018 Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announced the creation of the DOL’s new Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI). That office has launched two new websites, one to provide employers with resources to assess wage and hour compliance, and the other to provide employees with information regarding their rights and responsibilities under federal wage and hour law. Those websites are named, aptly, employer.gov and worker.gov, respectively.

The stated purpose of the OCI, according to the DOL’s website, is to “promote greater understanding of federal labor laws and regulations, allowing job creators to prevent violations and protect Americans’ wages, workplace safety and health, retirement security, and other rights and benefits. As part of its work, OCI will work with the enforcement agencies to refine their metrics to ensure the efficacy of the [DOL’s] compliance assistance activities.”

Jackson Lewis will continue to monitor the OCI’s actions. If you have any questions about this or any other wage and hour issue, please consult the Jackson Lewis attorney(s) with whom you regularly work.