The U.S. Labor Department is seeking an additional $6.4 million in fiscal year 2013 for increased enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family Medical Leave Act, according to testimony by Labor Sec. Hilda Solis.
“As we continue to recover from one of the worst economic crises in three generations, it is especially important that we invest in the enforcement of key laws that protect our workers’ wages and benefits,” Solis told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee March 14.
The agency also is seeking $14 million to address worker misclassification, including $10 million for grants to states to identify misclassification and recover unpaid taxes within the unemployment insurance system. Nearly $4 million is being sought to help the agency’s Wage and Hour Division identify misclassification of independent contractors and strengthen and coordinate federal and state efforts to enforce labor violations arising from misclassification, Solis said.