Two federal agents arrive at your workplace and ask to interview all of your employees and see all of your payroll records for the last two years. Their business cards say that they are investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division. What do you do?
The unannounced on-site visit is a common tactic employed by Wage & Hour Division investigators, particularly when dealing with small employers who may not fully understand their legal rights. Often, employers simply comply with the investigator's requests, calling their lawyers only after the fact. This is usually a mistake. As with other law enforcement officers, employers are generally not obligated to immediately turn over records or allow DOL investigators into non-public areas of their premises without a warrant.
So how should you respond?
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