Thousands of Illinois workers are reportedly owed more than $5 million in back wages, and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is making an effort to ensure these workers receive their hard-earned cash. A new website, launched by the department, is now geared up to help connect workers with the wages they are rightfully owed across various industries, including agriculture, restaurants, and healthcare.
The DOL's Wage and Hour Division, which steps in to investigate when there's suspicion of underpayment, has set to actively attempt to distribute the funds to those who earned them, as reported by NBC Chicago. Some of the recent cases include $111,000 in back wages to security guards at Proviso Township High School, and $3 million to workers at an Elk Grove processing plant, based on the Labor Department's findings.
Amid concerns that many of these workers may be difficult to track down due to outdated addresses or having moved on, the DOL has created the new 'Workers Owed Wages' system. "As you can imagine, sometimes the workers have moved or their addresses aren’t known and therefore, those are the workers, we term unlocatables, that we search for based on the best information we can. But sometimes we are unable to locate them," Tom Gauza, district director of the U.S. Department of Labor, detailed in an interview with WTTW Chicago.
Workers are urged to use the online system to possibly claim their money before it gets reverted to the U.S. Treasury after a three-year holding period. Gauza added, "It’s important if they are looking to see if they are owed money that they check the WOW system, and that’s why we’re trying to get the message out." The department is also clear that employees can claim wages regardless of immigration status. These efforts come as a relief to many, considering that nationwide, more than 222,000 workers still have an opportunity to claim over $161.4 million in back wages.
The website offers a search function where people can look up by employer or state of employment and provides additional steps for employment verification. To make the process more accessible, the Workers Owed Wages website is available in both English and Spanish. If workers find they are owed money, they will be instructed to contact a DOL office to receive a check, as highlighted by the Labor Department's initiative.
