Research by Round and her colleagues found that TWC ordered $99 million in wages ordered due across over 57,000 cases between 2010 and 2020, but 80 percent of those wages had yet to be recovered as of 2024. The TWC told the Dallas Morning News in 2023 that it could not verify Rutgers’ findings since it lacked access to the methodology.
“Collections is a difficult problem. It’s like collecting against any debt. If the money’s not there, the money’s not there,” Round said. TWC’s current enforcement and deterrent tools vary. Penalties of up to $1,000 can be imposed on bad-faith employers, the agency can order the employer’s bank to freeze funds and turn them over, or it can file a lawsuit against the employer. A lien is also attached to an employer’s property after a final determination of owed wages, which could force employers to pay back owed wages if they try to sell the property. There are currently more than 11,000 active liens totaling over $127 million, according to state data.
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The number of investigators, however, is dwindling. As of earlier this year, there were just 611, the lowest point in decades nationwide, according to Rutgers University researchers. As of May 2025, there were only 68 federal investigators assigned in Texas—one for every 232,000 workers. A review of federal data shows that the total wages federal investigators ordered to be paid back in Texas is the lowest it’s been in 21 years at $7.5 million in the 2025 fiscal year, compared to tens of millions in prior years.
Texas Can’t Keep Up with Surge in Workers’ Wage Theft Complaints
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