Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act

In this title:

(1) Administrator. The term the Administrator means the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor.

(2) Community partner. The term community partner means any stakeholder with a commitment to enforcing wage and hour laws and preventing abuses of such laws, including any—

(A) State department of labor;

(B) attorney general of a State, or other similar authorized official of a political subdivision thereof;

(C) law enforcement agency;

(D) consulate;

(E) employee or advocate of employees, including a labor organization, community- and faith-based organization, business association, or nonprofit legal aid organization;

(F) academic institution that plans, coordinates, and implements programs and activities to prevent wage and hour violations and recover unpaid wages, damages, and penalties; or

(G) any municipal agency responsible for the enforcement of local wage and hour laws.

(3) Community partnership. The term community partnership means a partnership between—

(A) a working group consisting of community partners; and

(B) the Department of Labor.

(4) Eligible entity. The term eligible entity means an entity that is any of the following:

(A) A nonprofit organization, including such an organization that is a community-based organization, faith-based organization, or labor organization, that provides services and support to employees, including assisting such employees in recovering unpaid wages.

(B) An employer.

(C) A business association.

(D) An institution of higher education, as defined by section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

(E) A partnership between any of the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).

(5) Employ; employee; employer. The terms employ, employee, and employer have the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203).

(6) Secretary. The term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor.

(7) Strategic enforcement. The term strategic enforcement means the process by which the Secretary—

(A) targets highly noncompliant industries, as identified by the Secretary, using industry-specific structures to influence, and ultimately reform, networks of interconnected employers;

(B) analyzes regulatory regimes under which specific industries operate; and

(C) modifies the enforcement approach of such regulatory regimes in order to ensure the greatest impact.

(8) Wage and hour law. The term wage and hour law means any Federal law enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, including any provision of this Act enforced by such division.

(9) Wage and hour violation. The term wage and hour violation refers to any violation of a Federal law enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, including any provision of this Act enforced by such division.