Were you a Puerto Rico Police Department officer between 2010 and 2014? US Department of Labor may have back wages you’re owed

SAN JUAN, PR – The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking 287 former or current officers of the Puerto Rico Police Department, who worked for the department between June 13, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2014, and are owed back wages as part of a 2016 federal court order.

The order requires the Puerto Rico Police Department to pay $8,732,386 in back wages and interest to 2,642 current and former police officers in eight annual installments through 2024. The police department has delivered the back wages to most of these workers. However, the department was unable to contact 287 of the affected employees.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is now responsible for distributing these back wages and wants these employees to know that they can still claim their back wages. Even if employees received some installment payments, the Wage and Hour Division may have additional funds to distribute.

“While the Wage and Hour Division is determined to deliver back wages to the workers who earned them, sometimes we cannot find them. If we cannot do so, then by law, the uncollected funds will become property of the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” said Wage and Hour Division Caribbean District Director José R. Vázquez in Puerto Rico. “We encourage these workers to contact the Wage and Hour Division at 787-775-1947 or use our online search tool, Workers Owed Wages, in either Spanish or English to find out if they are owed back wages. When using the Workers Owed Wages system, please use the search term “PR Police.””

View how WOW works in English                            View how WOW works en Español

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Lea el comunicado de prensa en Español.

Note to Editors: Wage and Hour Division Caribbean District Director José R. Vázquez is available for news media interviews to discuss the back wage search and the Workers Owed Wages tools. Contact fitzgerald.edmund@dol.gov and lally.james.c@dol.gov.