Objective

To determine the extent of implementation of the seven recommendations included in our initial audit report, Labor Investigations in New York City (Report 2022-S-17).

About the Program

The Department of Labor (DOL, or Department) is responsible for enforcing employers’ compliance with the Labor Laws and investigating labor violations related to minimum wage, overtime, illegal deductions, underpaid wages, and child labor. DOL’s Division of Labor Standards (Division), which operates six district offices in New York City, is responsible for receiving and investigating labor complaints and has the authority to assess penalties and fines when employers are found to be in violation of labor laws. Labor complaints can come from different sources, such as a complainant (i.e., an individual), a concerned citizen or advocacy group, or a referral from the Workers’ Compensation Board.

Claims that are identified as valid (i.e., having merit) are registered as cases in the Worker’s Protection Audit/Management system (WPM), which is used to track case information such as claim, case, claimant, and employer details. Once assigned a case in WPM, an investigator is responsible for tracking its progress and noting key milestones in the WPM. The Division’s Labor Standards’ Field Investigator’s Manual (Manual) provides guidance to investigators to follow when conducting investigations, including target completion dates. A case is complete when the investigator concludes that the initial complaint is not substantiated, the employer agrees that the violation(s) occurred and to pay restitution, or the employer is unwilling to comply with the investigator’s recommendations.

The objective of our initial audit, issued on January 31, 2024, was to determine whether DOL was adequately conducting labor violation investigations in NYC. The audit found significant issues with DOL’s claim processing and investigation activities, which delayed case resolution and restitution for workers. Many claims were classified as pending or incomplete and remained open for long periods, resulting in delays in investigations of those claims. A majority of the sampled child labor and wage-related cases were not completed in a timely manner, as prescribed in the Manual. Furthermore, for some case types, DOL did not establish target completion time frames. While some case types, such as child labor cases involving hazardous employment, had shorter target completion time frames, DOL’s case management system, WPM, did not distinguish those cases from other child labor cases. While DOL communicated changes and updates to policies and procedures that impact how labor claims and cases are prioritized and managed, these changes were not documented in its Manual. The audit also identified other areas for improvement, including DOL’s process for reassigning investigations when an investigator leaves DOL. In addition, the audit recommended increased collaboration between DOL and New York City Public Schools (NYCPS), formerly the New York City Department of Education.

Key Findings

DOL made some progress in addressing the problems we identified in the initial audit report. Specifically, DOL has established new time frames for case types that previously lacked them, as well as shortened time frames for others. However, DOL should take additional steps to decrease claim processing times and develop its collaboration with NYCPS. Of the initial report’s seven audit recommendations, two were implemented and five were partially implemented.

Key Recommendation

DOL officials are requested, but not required, to provide information about any actions planned to address the unresolved issues discussed in this follow-up within 30 days of the report’s issuance.