US Department of Labor, Louisiana Workforce Commission renew partnership to protect workers from misclassification

Participant:   Louisiana Workforce Commission

Address:           Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Description: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division renewed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Louisiana Workforce Commission. The memorandum provides opportunities for federal and state staff cross-training as well as sharing investigation and audit information to increase the identification of labor violations in the state.

Background: The agreement serves as an understanding between the division and the commission to provide joint outreach, training and enforcement. The voluntary agreement outlines procedures for both agencies working together to address employment violations, particularly misclassification.

The division enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Louisiana Workforce Commission is responsible for enforcing labor laws and regulations related to employment security and workers’ compensation.

Duration: Initially approved February 2012, this MOU will last three years.

“By renewing this agreement, the department and Louisiana Workforce Commission will continue to work together on important issues such as the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Our partnership improves our ability to enforce wage violations at both the state and federal level,” said Wage and Hour District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans.