About 1,500 Utahns haven’t received their owed wages, amounting to more than $2 million

A woman used to work as a cook in a restaurant and, while she worked many overtime hours, she never got paid for them. That’s the scenario presented to open a U.S. Department of Labor promotional video.

It’s a fictional case, but it’s not far from the reality faced by thousands of Utah workers. 

“If you’re owed back pay from a labor investigation and haven’t received it, there may be a remedy,” the video continues. This includes current and former employees. 

About 1,500 workers in the state haven’t been fairly compensated for their work, the U.S. Department of Labor found through different investigations, according to a news release. And, they may not know there’s a way to get that money back.

Now, as the year comes to an end, the office wants to make sure those workers receive the $2,347,439 in owed wages the department has been holding for them through Workers Owed Wages, a web tool with a database for anyone with unpaid wages. 

“When we find violations, we work to recover unpaid wages on behalf of employees. We make every effort to locate and notify every employee due back wages. If we cannot find an employee, we hold their back wages for three years while we continue our efforts to locate them,” the Department of Labor wrote on its website. “After this period, if we remain unable to find the person, we are required to send the money to the U.S. Treasury.”

The tool is available in English and Spanish and has instructions on how to verify workers’ identities and how to apply to receive the unpaid wages.