By Josh Eidelson | Bloomberg
The U.S. government’s minimum-wage enforcers plan to zero in on the warehouse and logistics industry, amplifying scrutiny of a sector criticized during the pandemic for its labor practices.
A combination of explosive growth, low wages and the widespread use of contract staff demand greater attention be paid to how the sector treats its “essential workers,” Jessica Looman, the acting administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, said in an interview Tuesday. “We want to make sure that the outcome, as we’re continuing to move out of this pandemic, hasn’t been an opportunity for greater exploitation of workers, but instead that we have learned a lot of lessons and it can be an opportunity to empower more workers.”
In an emailed statement, Looman’s agency pledged “vigorous enforcement” as part of a new initiative stepping up efforts to ensure warehousing and logistics workers are paid the required hourly wage and overtime pay, can take time off as prescribed by law and aren’t retaliated against for exercising their rights.
The agency has been conducting 70 investigations in the warehouse and logistics sector in recent months, and three-quarters of those it resolved found violations of the law, a spokesperson said.
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