As part of the government’s efforts to improve transparency, the United States Department of Labor has released version 1.0 of its searchable database of enforcement actions.  (H/T Workplace Prof). 

The searchable website is still in its early stages so don’t expect a lot just yet. But even so, you can start to get a sense of the scope of their work and where certain states fit in.

For example, under the Wage & Hour Division, the database reports 276 cases (some with payments, some not, mainly for overtime violations) in Connecticut.  You can download the Connecticut list here. 

Oklahoma, a state that has about the same population as Connecticut, has some 383 records reported. 

That would seem to confirm the theory of some that the U.S. Department of Labor often defers some wage enforcement actions to the state Department of Labor.

In any event, as the Department of Labor adds resources to this site, it will definitely be useful to draw trends from the data and analyze it for lessons that employers can learn from this site.