🗞️ Still Waiting to Be Paid: 200+ Puerto Rico Officers Are Owed Decade-Old Back Wages
The U.S. DOL is searching for 204 current or former Puerto Rico Police Department officers owed $128,704 in back wages stemming from a 2016 federal court order over FLSA overtime violations from 2010–2014.
More than a decade after federal investigators first documented widespread overtime violations at the Puerto Rico Police Department, the U.S. Department of Labor says it still cannot track down more than 200 officers who are owed back pay.
The Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division announced on April 21, 2026, that it is searching for 204 current or former officers who are collectively owed $128,704 in back wages. The money has gone uncollected not because of any legal dispute, but because the department has been unable to locate those individuals.
The underlying case dates to a federal investigation that determined the Puerto Rico Police Department had willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) over a four-year stretch from June 2010 through August 2014. The central finding was that officers were not being properly paid for overtime. Federal law permits public safety employers to substitute compensatory time for overtime wages, but only up to a ceiling of 480 hours. Beyond that threshold, cash payment is required. Investigators found that the department failed to honor that obligation, leaving 2,642 officers underpaid over that period.
On October 19, 2016, the Labor Department filed a proposed consent judgment with the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí approved the judgment on November 15, 2016, requiring the Puerto Rico Police Department and the Commonwealth to pay $8,732,386 in back wages and interest to the affected officers. The court order also compelled the department to overhaul its payroll infrastructure, institute electronic recordkeeping, provide FLSA training to supervisors and employees, and submit annual compliance reports to federal regulators.
By most measures, the distribution went smoothly. The department paid the overwhelming majority of affected workers. But 204 individuals could not be reached, leaving just over $128,000 on the table. The Wage and Hour Division has since assumed responsibility for disbursing those remaining funds and is urging anyone who may qualify to come forward. Officers who received partial payments in earlier installment rounds may still be owed additional amounts.
Workers can check their eligibility through the Labor Department's Workers Owed Wages online search tool by entering "PR Police," or by calling 1-202-343-5524.
Key Points
- The PRPD was found to have willfully violated the FLSA by failing to properly pay overtime to officers between June 2010 and August 2014.
- A 2016 federal consent judgment required the PRPD and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to pay $8,732,386 in back wages and interest to 2,642 officers.
- As of April 2026, 204 officers remain unlocated and are collectively owed $128,704.
- The WHD is now responsible for distributing these unclaimed funds; even workers who received partial payments may be owed more.
- Eligible workers can search for owed wages at the DOL's Workers Owed Wages tool (search: "PR Police") or call 1-202-343-5524.
- The consent judgment also required corrective actions including electronic payroll systems, FLSA training, and annual compliance reporting.
Primary Source Author: Wage and Hour Division Caribbean District Director José R. Vázquez, U.S. Department of Labor
Primary Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, US Department of Labor seeks to return $128K in recovered wages to more than 200 current, former Puerto Rico Police Department officers (April 21, 2026)
Primary Source Link: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20260421-0
