Thousands of Michigan workers owed $2.3 million in back pay; how to claim it

FOX 2 (WJBK) - Thousands of Michigan workers are owed millions in back pay but do not know it.

The U.S. Department of Labor is trying to connect at least 5,800 people who work in Michigan to their money. A total of $2.3 million in back pay has yet to be claimed. 

Back pay refers to wages or salary owed to an employee for work performed in the past but not yet compensated.

When the labor department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) discovers labor law violations, "we often get unpaid wages on behalf of workers," according to the division. "If we cannot locate these employees, we hold their back wages while we continue to look for them."

After three years, if the WHD cannot locate a person who is owed back wages, the division is required to transfer the money to the U.S. Treasury. To minimize that, the labor department developed Workers Owed Wages (WOW).

WOW is an online search tool that allows anyone to check if they are entitled to any back pay.

"The individual would go onto the searchable database, they would enter the employer's name… they would also enter their name, and the system will prompt them for additional information," said Timolin Mitchell, the WHD Director in Detroit. 

To check if you are owed any back pay, click here.