The Division is responsible for the administration and enforcement of a wide range of laws which collectively cover virtually all private and State and local government employment.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 also provided certain additional enforcement responsibilities to be undertaken by the Wage and Hour Division staff.

[2] Given the scope of the agency's responsibilities, WHD must make the most of its limited resources by focusing its enforcement and compliance assistance efforts to achieve the greatest impact.

Through direct engagement with industry leaders at a national, regional, and local level, WHD has developed productive relationships that have resulted in meaningful partnerships and compliance assistance tools that have been well received by the employer community.

In the process, rather than relying on traditional text-heavy fact sheets and Power Point presentations, WHD has had early success transitioning into the use of modern compliance assistance methods and has used innovative ways to share information including visual design, infographics, videos, interactive web-based tools, and language that is tailored to the employer audience and accessible and usable in multiple contexts and formats.

For example, by analyzing data on incoming compliance assistance questions and most frequently visited webpages, as well as through discussions with major industry associations, WHD recognized a need to develop more employer-friendly information regarding the FMLA.