Wage and hour enforcement on farms during the Trump administration: Number of investigations in agriculture, employees receiving back wages, total back wages assessed, back wages per employee, and civil money penalties, fiscal years 2017–2020
| Fiscal Year | Number of investigations in agriculture | Employees receiving back wages | Back wages assessed (2022$) | Average back wages per employee (2022$) | Civil money penalties assessed (2022$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1,307 | 7,304 | $6,025,286 | $825 | $5,181,588 |
| 2018 | 1,076 | 9,015 | $4,903,710 | $544 | $7,627,158 |
| 2019 | 1,125 | 8,972 | $6,937,131 | $773 | $7,244,715 |
| 2020 | 1,036 | 11,175 | $8,108,569 | $726 | $7,248,539 |
| TOTALS | 4,544 | 36,466 | $25,974,697 | – | $27,302,000 |
| AVERAGE ANNUAL | 1,136 | 9,117 | $6,493,674 | $717 | $6,825,500 |
Note: Dollar amounts reported have been adjusted for inflation to constant 2022 dollars using the CPI-U-RS. As a result, the dollar amounts presented here may differ from the amounts reported in the source data.
Source: Authors’ analysis of U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Agriculture data table (last accessed February 26, 2023).