A report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) mishandled 9 out of 10 cases brought to them by a team of undercover agents posing as employees. According to Rep. George Miller (D- Calif.), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, minimum wage, overtime and child labor complaints were “routinely brushed aside, improperly tracked, or inadequately investigated.” A video of his remarks at a hearing discussing the GAO's undercover investigation can be found here.  Rep. Miller claimed that the WHD “dropped the ball” on pursuing employee complaints, including those involving unlawful child labor, and often discouraged employees from pursuing their claims. According to Rep. Miller, Elaine Chao, the Secretary of Labor under the Bush Administration, was “absent without leave” during her time in charge of the DOL.

In response to this report’s findings, current Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis released a statement promising the following:

The department's Wage and Hour Division has already begun the process of adding 150 new investigators to its field offices to refocus the agency on these enforcement responsibilities. In addition, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the agency will hire 100 investigators to ensure that contractors on stimulus projects are in compliance with the applicable laws. The addition of these 250 new field investigators, a staff increase of more than a third, will reinvigorate the work of this important agency, which has suffered a loss of experienced personnel over the last several years.