With a move that will surely boost employment lawsuits for plaintiffs’ attorneys, the Federal Government announced that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will soon begin referring disgruntled employees to the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Attorney Referral System.  The Wage and Hour Division handles employees’ and ex-employees’ federal wage and family leave claims against employers.  Typical wage claims are for failure to pay minimum wage, overtime, or for all hours worked.  Typical family medical leave claims are for failure to grant family medical leave,  or reinstate employees after taking family leave.  While employees have always had the option of retaining a private attorney to pursue their FLSA or FMLA claims, the government’s move is now going to make it easier for employees to find an attorney and pursue their case.

The Wage and Hour Division added 350 new investigators over the past two years to try to enforce the basic employment protections provided by FLSA and FMLA.   These additional investigators, however, cannot keep up with the growing influx of FLSA and FMLA complaints.  In 2009, the Wage and Hour Division received over 35,000 complaints; in 2010, the division received over 40,000 complaints.  Now, instead of turning complainants away, the Wage and Hour Division will provide employees with a toll free number to the ABA-Approved Attorney Referral System. If employees choose to call the toll-free number, they will be given the names of local ABA-approved lawyers to discuss the potential lawsuit.  That’s not all, though.  If the Wage and Hour Division has conducted an investigation before referring the employee to the hot-line, the division will also share any investigation results, determinations that the employer violated the law, and the back pay owed.   In other words, the government will give the employee a law suit in a box.

The Wage and Hour Division has termed this new collaboration with the plaintiff’s lawyers as a “Bridge to Justice.”  The Division explains at its website that this collaboration supports the Division’s priority of going after minimum wage and overtime violations against low wage and vulnerable workers, child labor, recidivist employers, retaliation or discrimination, or criminal violations.  The Wage and Hour Division increasingly is focusing on industries such as agriculture, construction, janitorial services, and hotel/motels.  The division thinks these industries and others seek to redefine the employer-employee relationship through subcontracting, third party management, franchising, and independent contracting.

Employers should take the Wage and Hour Division’s Bridge to Justice announcement as an extra incentive to review their employment policies, payment practices, and contractual agreements.  Careful management of workforce relationships and correct application of wage and hour and family leave laws is an employer’s best defense against spurious claims.