NOVEMBER 19, 2009 - The state of Michigan's Wage & Hour Division collected more than $2.3 million in unpaid wages and fringe benefits in fiscal year 2009 that were due workers in the state.
"Our collection of unpaid wages and fringe benefits for the 12 months ending September 30 totaled just over $2.3 million, which is very close to the amount collected in FY 2008," Jack Finn, administrator of the Wage & Hour Division, noted.
Collections for the year were down by 1.6 percent from FY 2008. The number of complaints filed with the Division was also down, slipping to 5,031, a decline of 2.5 percent. During the year, Wage & Hour investigators completed 5,120 wage investigations, down slightly from the 5,189 investigations conducted in FY 2008.
Finn said his investigators completed 72 percent of their investigations within 90 days, which was virtually unchanged from the prior year. In addition, 72 percent of the cases reached "informal resolutions," which did not require further intervention by the Division.
Finn believes the state's high unemployment rate contributed to the small changes in the number of wage complaints and collections in FY 2009.
"There is little doubt that the state's high unemployment rate and fewer workers on the job contributed to the slight declines in the number of cases where employees did not receive their pay or fringe benefits," he observed. "Regardless of the numbers, however, the collection of unpaid wages is always an important task. And in these times, it is especially critical that we do all that we can to help workers receive the wages and benefits they have worked so hard to earn."
He cited a case of a waitress in Dearborn, who filed a complaint with the Division, saying her employer withheld her tips. Upon investigation, Wage & Hour staff was able to collect over $200 that was owed the woman.
The Wage & Hour Division administers and enforces Michigan's wage protection laws - the Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act, the Minimum Wage Act, and the Prevailing Wages on State Projects Act. It also oversees the Youth Employment Standards Act.
The Division investigates complaints alleging non-payment of wages and fringe benefits, state minimum wage, overtime, equal pay and prevailing wage. It also monitors youth employment standards, including hours of work and safe, non-hazardous working conditions.
The Wage & Hour Division is an agency within the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth with offices in Lansing and Livonia and an investigator based in Houghton in the Upper Peninsula.
More information about the wage and hour programs is available online at www.michigan.gov/wagehouror by calling the Division at 517.335.0400.
For more information about DELEG, please visit www.michigan.gov/deleg.
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