Employers have stolen $1.8 billion in wages over the last two decades from workers in industries that employ H-2B workers: Back wages and civil money penalties assessed for wage and hour violations in industries with a high prevalence of H-2B workers, by industry, fiscal years 2000–2021
| Industry | Cases | Cases with violations | Employees owed back wages | Back wages assessed (2021$) | Average back wages owed per employee (2021$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All seven industries | 225,227 | 180,451 | 1,666,195 | $1,792,259,236 | $1,076 |
| Landscaping services | 5,705 | 4,289 | 58,404 | $60,088,422 | $1,029 |
| Janitorial services | 11,660 | 9,391 | 96,279 | $96,808,594 | $1,006 |
| Hotels and motels | 22,469 | 18,501 | 140,864 | $86,691,426 | $615 |
| Forestry | 1,479 | 1,102 | 10,860 | $10,781,520 | $993 |
| Food services | 108,244 | 88,765 | 752,417 | $654,970,169 | $870 |
| Construction | 68,012 | 52,441 | 542,034 | $847,882,693 | $1,564 |
| Amusement | 7,658 | 5,962 | 65,337 | $35,036,411 | $536 |
Notes: Tables include all violations of laws enforced in the selected industries by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The violations and back wages owed do not represent enforcement actions by the Wage and Hour Division that involve only H-2B workers; they represent violations and back wages owed to any workers in the seven selected H-2B industries. These may include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., green card holders), H-2B workers, or workers of any other immigration status, including unauthorized immigrant workers. Dollar amounts reported in this table have been adjusted for inflation to constant 2021 dollars using the CPI-U-RS. As a result, the dollar amounts presented here may differ from the amounts reported in the source data. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Source: EPI analysis of U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, “Industries with High Prevalence of H-2B Workers” [data tables for fiscal years 2000–2021].
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