HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania labor investigators handled a flood of more than 7,000 workplace complaints in 2025 — a nearly 23% jump from the year before — recovering more than $5.3 million in unpaid wages for workers and collecting more than $2.25 million in fines from employers accused of breaking state labor laws, the Department of Labor & Industry said.
The department said the increase reflects both stepped-up enforcement and growing willingness among workers to come forward, pointing to what it called stronger confidence that complaints will lead to action.
“Pennsylvania workers deserve to be paid every dollar they earn and to know that their rights are protected,” Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker said. “Under Governor Shapiro’s leadership, our Bureau of Labor Law Compliance is responding to thousands of complaints, returning wages to workers, and holding employers accountable when they break the law. When employers cheat their workers, the Commonwealth will not look the other way. This work is about fairness, dignity, and economic justice for working Pennsylvanians.”
The agency said its Bureau of Labor Law Compliance received 7,029 complaints in 2025 and took enforcement action across industries and regions, returning wages to workers and assessing penalties against employers.
According to the department, the largest volume of complaints fell under the Wage Payment and Collection Law, which requires employers to pay wages owed in a timely manner. L&I said it received 4,749 complaints under that law and recovered $4,010,527 in unpaid wages, benefiting about 1,700 workers.
Under the Minimum Wage Act, which covers minimum wage and overtime requirements for eligible workers, the department said it received 322 complaints and recovered $578,499 in unpaid wages for about 450 workers.
The department also reported 186 complaints under the Prevailing Wage Act, which applies to workers on publicly funded construction projects. L&I said it recovered $744,881 for 386 workers in those cases.
Construction misclassification enforcement — targeting employers who improperly label workers as independent contractors — generated 390 complaints and referrals, the agency said. L&I reported collecting $762,635 in fines, finding 187 companies in violation, and identifying 1,304 workers as misclassified.
Child labor enforcement made up a significant share of the bureau’s workload, the department said, with 1,265 cases investigated in 2025. L&I reported collecting $1,466,073 in fines and finding 231 companies in violation of the Child Labor Act.
The bureau also handled 117 complaints under Pennsylvania’s Mandatory Overtime Law for Nurses, which is intended to limit mandatory overtime and protect patient safety and nurses’ well-being. The department said it collected $21,734 in fines in those cases.
L&I urged workers and members of the public who suspect violations of Pennsylvania labor laws to file complaints online through the department’s secure submission form at https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dli/programs-services/labor-management-relations/labor-law-compliance.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN.