Back wages owed and civil money penalties assessed in agriculture have been on a generally upward trend since 2000: Back wages and civil money penalties assessed (in millions of dollars) against agricultural employers by the Wage and Hour Division, fiscal years 2000–2022
| Fiscal year | Back wages | Civil money penalties |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $2.27 | $2.34 |
| 2001 | 2.86 | 2.09 |
| 2002 | 3.31 | 1.93 |
| 2003 | 3.89 | 1.81 |
| 2004 | 1.89 | 2.57 |
| 2005 | 2.00 | 1.60 |
| 2006 | 2.46 | 1.18 |
| 2007 | 4.51 | 2.04 |
| 2008 | 2.88 | 1.84 |
| 2009 | 1.92 | 1.72 |
| 2010 | 4.24 | 1.48 |
| 2011 | 3.72 | 2.53 |
| 2012 | 6.73 | 5.84 |
| 2013 | 9.67 | 9.18 |
| 2014 | 5.57 | 3.83 |
| 2015 | 5.33 | 6.25 |
| 2016 | 5.91 | 4.31 |
| 2017 | 6.03 | 5.18 |
| 2018 | 4.90 | 7.63 |
| 2019 | 6.94 | 7.24 |
| 2020 | 8.11 | 7.25 |
| 2021 | 9.12 | 7.89 |
| 2022 | 5.82 | 7.98 |
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).