Regulators and the Challenge of Enforcement

Abstract

Addressing union decline and payroll fraud involved enforcement of employment laws to create a more level playing field. The diminishing activity by federal agencies meant that most of the aggressive enforcement devolved to the state level. The studies demonstrating lost public revenue from payroll fraud prompted several state departments of labor and attorney general offices to take up civil and criminal cases. The US Department of Labor began to crack down on payroll fraud during the Obama administration, only to have its policies reversed under Trump. Biden’s DOL has resumed a more activist posture but there has been little consistency over the years.