Nearly 1,600 Kansans are owed back wages. Here’s how to check if you have a payment
An online search tool could help more than 1,500 Kansans claim back wages recovered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
According to an agency press release, more than $1 million belonging to Kansans has remained unclaimed because employees cannot be found, either due to a change of job or change of address. Employers not having contact information or an employee changing their name is another roadblock, the press release said.
Here’s what to know about back wages and how to check if you may be owed.
What are back wages?
Back wages are ordered of an employer under the Wages and Fair Labor Standards Act, which covers multiple topics, including minimum wage, overtime, record keeping and more.
Under the FLSA, there are multiple ways you can collect back wages, and those include, according to the federal DOL:
- The Wage and Hour Division supervises payment to owed workers
- The secretary of labor brings a suit for back wages
- An employee files private suit for back pay
- The secretary of labor obtains an injunction to restrain anyone after violating the FLSA
Last March, the federal DOL filed a suit against two Kansas restaurants due to denied minimum and overtime wages to employees who worked as many as 66 hours a week. The owner had to recover more than $770,000 in back wages and damages for the affected employees.
In 2021, the owner of former Wichita restaurant Fredo’s Wine and Tapas was ordered to pay back employees after violating minimum wage and overtime regulations. Workers who sued the restaurant said they hadn’t been paid properly for more than a year. The owner was ordered to pay more than $21,000 in back pay and damages. The restaurant closed in 2020.
How can I see if I am owed back wages?
An online tool, called Workers Owed Wages (WOW), allows employees to enter their information and see if there are any back wages owed to them.
The website can be used in English and Spanish. If you’re are owed money, you’ll be contacted by the Wage and Hour Division office for check collection.
As of January, 1,584 Kansas workers are owed a combined total of $1,026,639.32 in unclaimed back wages, according to a DOL spokesperson.
The department holds unclaimed funds for three years. After those three years are up, the money is turned over to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
To use the DOL’s portal, you first search for your employer, enter your name, fill out your contact information and upload a signed form with your social security card, taxpayer identification card, driver’s license, W-2 and pay stub.
