Our Work

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is one of our nation’s most essential labor law enforcement agencies, responsible for enforcing some of the most comprehensive labor laws affecting more than 143 million workers. We focus on protections related to minimum wage, overtime, child labor, family and medical leave, employment conditions for migrant workers, lie detector tests, garnishments, prevailing wages on government-funded contracts, labor provisions of several guest worker programs, and more.

 

A career with WHD is about protecting workers, ensuring that law-abiding employers are not undercut by unfair competition. Now is your opportunity to feel the pride of a career in federal service – to play a role in shaping America’s future.

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Meet Some of Our Team

derek

“The positive and direct impact that we have on millions of people is both a responsibility and a reward. The most valuable asset that we have in this life is our time. When a worker’s time is being taken for granted, being able to help them get paid for that time is very satisfying to me.”

- Derek, Wage and Hour Investigator in New Orleans, LA

 

edith

“Knowing that when we succeed at our job, we have the potential to help workers not only on a short-term basis – by collecting back wages or resolving an FMLA issue- but also by improving the long-term working conditions for those employed at a business in the future. The investigator job is not theoretical. When we do our job well, it has absolute effects on people right away.”

- Edith, Wage and Hour Investigator in Chicago, IL

 

calvin

“For me, the investigator position is exciting. We investigate a diverse range of industries, which makes each case different. Normally, I’m out and about meeting new people, doing surveillance, poring through records. Wage and Hour gives us the tools and training we need to do the job well. My schedule is flexible. I have three kids that all participate in sports and am able to flex my work time around my home life. That’s huge to me.”

- Calvin, Wage and Hour Investigator in West Covina, CA

 

crystal

“I don’t have one favorite day in this job; I have many. I enjoy going on-site during the investigation process and touring the establishment. I’ve been able to see how lumber is made, how tires are re-treaded, how raceways in airports are manufactured, how air is compressed to extract different gases into their liquid form and walked around a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at an air base. There are very few careers that provide those kinds of experiences.”

- Crystal, Wage and Hour Investigator in Pittsburgh, PA

 

keith

“In my senior year of college as a business major, I decided I could not spend my life concerned with profits and margins of a corporation. I made the decision then to dedicate my life to helping others. I am so passionate about the work of the Wage and Hour Division because I truly believe the laws we enforce are incredibly important to the livelihood and welfare of workers across the country. I’ve seen it firsthand time and again.”

- Keith, Wage and Hour Investigator in South Daytona, FL