Unpaid Wage Cases in Connecticut

Since 2005 the U.S. Department of Labor has found $42.1M in back wages owed to 35,808 Connecticut workers, in 2,081 cases, and assessed $2.1M in penalties. 109 cases involved child labor violations covering 269 minors.

$42.1MBack wages employers agreed to pay
35,808Workers owed back wages
2,081Cases with back wages

What workers weren't paid

Overtime not paid$28M (66%)
Prevailing wage on government contracts$8.9M (21%)
Other laws (farmworker, visa, leave and more)$2.9M (7%)
Below minimum wage$2.3M (6%)

Industries with the most back wages

Full-Service Restaurants$6.1M (15%)
Home Health Care Services$2.5M (6%)
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction$2.4M (6%)
Landscaping Services$1.7M (4%)
Special Needs Transportation$1.7M (4%)
Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers$1.5M (4%)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals$1.3M (3%)
Residential Mental Retardation, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities$1.1M (3%)
Limited-Service Restaurants$1M (2%)
Limousine Service$863K (2%)

Cases with back wages by year

05010015020018120051222006114200711620081252009862010111201111120128520138520141032015822016892017752018692019762020562021492022482023802024512025202026

By city

CityBack wagesWorkersCases
Hartford$3.4M 2,420123
Stamford$3.1M 3,24279
North Haven$2.5M 60129
New Haven$1.5M 2,10399
Stratford$1.4M 56929
Norwalk$1.1M 96364
Bridgeport$1M 64342
New London$851K 36523
Rocky Hill$815K 45625
Shelton$801K 1,66228
Manchester$774K 61537
Newington$769K 22225
Bloomfield$727K 76623
Groton$721K 78034
Plainville$683K 23715
Danbury$678K 37735
Fairfield$678K 46048
Middletown$639K 62541
East Hartford$637K 39237
Wallingford$601K 96033
Milford$599K 51843
Greenwich$570K 48532
Wilton$550K 19114
Meriden$535K 42529
Waterbury$492K 47947
Trumbull$449K 60916
Hamden$439K 63629
Farmington$437K 68225
Cheshire$414K 72529
Windsor$407K 44522
West Haven$392K 33728
Westport$378K 23927
Southington$376K 23828
Waterford$342K 33416
New Milford$337K 11113
West Hartford$327K 31640
Glastonbury$316K 11719
Norwich$303K 19611
Orange$287K 9216
Enfield$248K 24424
New Britain$232K 18625
Bristol$211K 22024
Wethersfield$193K 22613
Cromwell$177K 25815
Mystic$171K 20825
Branford$168K 30620
Old Saybrook$162K 19615
South Windsor$154K 22721
New Canaan$151K 11611
Putnam$144K 19615
Guilford$130K 8012
Windsor Locks$113K 9313
Avon$110K 7812
Torrington$108K 35325
Westbrook$74,011 23111
Vernon Rockville$39,439 8710
Bethel$18,646 4110

Cities with at least 10 cases with back wages.

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Source: the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division enforcement data (every concluded compliance action since fiscal year 2005), from the DOL Open Data Portal, loaded November 9, 2026. “Back wages” is the amount employers agreed to pay workers after an investigation found they were underpaid; dates are the end of the period the investigation covered. Employer names and addresses are as DOL publishes them. Federal cases only: state labor departments and private lawsuits recover more that isn't counted here.

Lawbamba is not affiliated with the Department of Labor, and this page is general information, not legal advice.