The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the National Labor Relations Board have signed a memorandum of understanding strengthening the agencies’ partnership and creating mechanisms to share information efficiently and establish a process for referral, joint investigation and cross-training of personnel. The agreement will also enable better enforcement against unlawful pay practices, misclassification of workers as independent contractors and retaliation against workers who exercise their legal rights.

The agreement is an effort by the agencies to improve the enforcement process of the laws they administer and reaffirms their commitment to ensure the rights and protections of workers. The partnership will help ensure that employers pay workers their rightful wages and that workers can take collective action to improve their working conditions without fear of retaliation.

“Collaborating with the National Labor Relations Board will expand both of our agencies’ impact and effectiveness in enforcing workplace protections and combatting misclassification, and preventing retaliation against them,” said Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman.

In addition to enhanced enforcement, the agencies will use the partnership to increase the public’s understanding of the laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division and the NLRB through increased community outreach, shared compliance materials, joint presentations and training events. The cooperative agreement will support joint goals protecting workers who exercise their workplace rights and educating employers about their legal responsibilities under federal laws.

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