The latest move by feds offers employees yet another tool to help them take legal action against their employers.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has teamed up with the American Bar Association (ABA) to help employees secure a lawyer to pursue FLSA and FMLA claims.
And the move itself is unprecedented. In fact, the ABA is calling it the “first-ever federal agency/private bar collaboration.”
Here’s how it works: When the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division is too swamped to handle an employee’s claim, it will provide that worker with a toll-free phone number that will direct him or her to a new attorney referral system.
In addition, if the DOL has conducted an investigation on a claim, the complainant will receive info about the findings to pass along to his or her attorney, which could ultimately strengthen the case against the employer.
