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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Meeting with Wage and Hour Regional Administrators
New Orleans, Louisiana
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Thank you, Tammy [McCutchen, Administrator, Wage and Hour Division,
U.S. Department of Labor] .
Good morning. It's a pleasure to be here with you today.
Thank you, Tammy, for your leadership, and for all you and the Wage and
Hour team have done on behalf of American workers.
The extraordinary achievements of the Wage and Hour Division over the last
few years have not gone unnoticed. I want to let you know that I appreciate
your hard work and great results.
Last year, you concluded nearly 40,000 cases. Because of you, more than
340,000 workers received back wages—a nearly 30 percent increase over 2002.
And the back wages that you helped those workers receive amounted to more
than $212 million—a 21 percent increase over 2002. That is an 11-year record.
At the same time, the number of days to resolve complaints dropped from 129
to 108—an improvement of more than 16 percent. Helping more workers receive
more back pay in less time—that is a tremendous record. I'm very proud of
you, and you can be proud of yourselves.
Your leadership helped make this happen. Although it will be a challenge
to maintain this record-breaking enforcement level, I am sure that you will
continue to work harder and smarter to achieve results.
As you know, we published the final Part 541 regulations last week. We have
done something that every administration since Jimmy Carter's has tried to
accomplish. We have guaranteed overtime protection to millions of workers.
This is a historic achievement.
It could not have been accomplished without the help of many people in the
Wage and Hour Division. There are too many to name individually, but I would
like to acknowledge some of you in our great Wage and Hour field office staff,
since I do not get to visit with you as often as I like. I would like to
acknowledge the work of Rick Brennan from the National Office; Kansas City
District Director Karen Chaiken; Richmond District Director Bruce Clark;
Seattle District Director Martin Barrows, and Phoenix District Director Pam
Yeager and all your staffs. Your input and review made the final rule a better
one.
The final rules expand the number of workers
eligible for overtime by nearly tripling the salary
threshold. Under the old regulations, only workers
making less than $8,060 were guaranteed overtime. Now, workers earning up
to $23,660 are guaranteed overtime—regardless
of their job titles or responsibilities.
This change alone will ensure that 1.3 million workers who did not enjoy
overtime protection will gain that protection
under the new rules. An additional 5.4 million workers, whose overtime protections
were ambiguous, can now be certain they are entitled
to overtime. That's 6.7 million workers who won't have to hire lawyers or
go to court to get their overtime.
The final regulations give you the tools you need to enforce the law. Later
this week, you will be the first to receive in-depth training on the new
regulations. The assistant directors and investigators will receive training
over the next few months.
With a new, clear rule and new training, it will be time to step up our
enforcement of the regulations.
I understand that this conference is held once a year to agree on your GPRA
goals and to plan your compliance assistance and enforcement initiatives
for the coming year. Enforcement of the new Part 541 regulations and helping
correct misinformation about the new regulations should be key part of your
strategic planning this year.
I have asked Tammy to put together a team to focus on enforcement and proper
understanding of the new regulations.
Some unscrupulous employers might try to take advantage of or abuse the
new rules. Others may be confused by all of the incorrect information being
disseminated about the impact of these regulations. You need to make sure
that this doesn't happen. We need you to continue to communicate our strong
commitment to enforcement and compliance assistance.
The Department of Labor exists to protect American workers. That is a noble
mission, and I hope you feel as honored to be a part of it as I do.
These updated regulations are good for workers. And that is what matters
most. But they are also good for the Department. They will make it easier
for you to enforce the law effectively.
America's workers are counting on you. I know that you can do it, because
your enforcement track record is superb—and getting better all the time.
Thank you, again, for all your hard work to protect American workers.
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