# What This Bill Does

This bill would cap the budget for the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division at $229 million for the year 2024. The Wage and Hour Division is the government agency responsible for enforcing federal labor laws—things like the minimum wage, overtime pay rules, child labor protections, and making sure workers get paid for the hours they work.

# Who This Affects and Why It Matters

If this bill passes, it would limit how much money the Wage and Hour Division can spend on salaries, office operations, and other expenses. With a fixed budget cap, the agency would have fewer resources to do its job. This could mean fewer investigators available to look into complaints from workers who believe they're being underpaid or mistreated, longer wait times for people trying to report wage violations, and less enforcement of workplace protections overall. Workers in industries with high rates of wage theft—like construction, restaurants, agriculture, and domestic work—could be particularly affected if there are fewer investigators to pursue their cases.

The practical impact depends on whether $229 million is more or less than what the division would normally receive. If it's a significant cut from previous years, the agency would have to make tough choices about which cases to prioritize and how many staff members to keep. If it's roughly in line with current spending, the impact might be minimal. Either way, this bill essentially freezes the division's budget at this specific level for 2024, preventing any increase even if the agency needs more resources to handle more complaints or keep up with inflation.

To provide for a limitation on availability of funds for Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Salaries and Expenses for fiscal year 2024.

Biggs, Andy

 <p>This bill limits FY2024 funding for the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division's Salaries and Expenses account.</p>