Politics
U.S. searching for 287 Puerto Rico police officers owed overtime wages
The order stems from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that determined the Commonwealth’s police department violated the Fair Labor Standards Act related to failure to pay overtime properly. If the missing police officers are not located, the funds will go to the U.S. Department of Treasury, said the Department of Labor.
February 11, 2022 2:09pm
Updated: February 13, 2022 10:08am
The U.S. Department of Labor is looking for 287 officers of the Puerto Rico Police department who worked between June 13, 2010, and August 31, 2014 that are owed back wages said a Department of Labor press release.
A 2016 federal court order requires the Puerto Rico Police department “to pay $8,732,386 in back wages and interest to 2,642 current and former police officers in eight annual installments through 2024.”
The order stems from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that determined between June 2010 and August 2014, the Commonwealth’s police department willfully committed a number of violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Most of the violations were the result of the police department failing to pay overtime properly, according to the federal court order.
The department has been able to pay most of the affected employees. However, 287 current or former police officers have not yet been located. If the missing police officers are not located, the funds will go to the U.S. Department of Treasury, said the Department of Labor.
“The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is now responsible for distributing these back wages and wants these employees to know that they can still claim their back wages. Even if employees received some installment payments, the Wage and Hour Division may have additional funds to distribute,” says the press release.
