WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan successfully pushed the Trump administration to reverse a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) recommendation to close the Manchester Wage and Hour Division office, which recovers an average of nearly $2 million annually in back pay for New Hampshire workers. After learning of the planned closure, Senator Hassan pressed the U.S. Department of Labor to keep the office open, warning that closing this facility would jeopardize workers’ ability to get the wages that they are owed.
Read more from the Union Leader here or below:
Union Leader: Hassan convinces Trump administration to keep Dept. of Labor office open in Manchester
By Kevin Landrigan
The Wage and Hour Division office for the U.S. Dept. of Labor in Manchester will remain open following a successful campaign by U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan to convince Trump administration officials of its value.
Early on in President Donald Trump’s second term, the Department of Government Efficiency — under its former head Elon Musk — had recommended closing the office.
As the ranking Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, Hassan warned that closing the office would reduce how much back pay New Hampshire residents would be able to obtain.
The office investigates reports of workers not receiving the full pay that they are entitled to, and it has recovered nearly $8 million for almost 5,600 New Hampshire workers over the last five years — more money per person than in 40 other states, Hassan said.
“I am pleased that the Manchester Wage and Hour Division office will remain open to continue serving Granite Staters,” Hassan said in a statement to the Union Leader about the effort.
“This office has delivered for New Hampshire workers by recovering wages that they have earned. We need to work together to eliminate waste and fraud in government in ways that help everyday people, not hurt them. DOGE’s arbitrary cuts to offices that are effectively serving constituents do not make our government more efficient and this closure would have threatened the ability of hardworking Granite Staters to recover wages that they are owed.”
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The effort to keep the office up and running had a positive development last month when Hassan secured a commitment from Andrew Rogers, the nominee to run the Wage and Hour Division, that he would review DOGE’s decision to recommend closing the office.
Since then, Hassan met personally with Rogers to again press New Hampshire’s case.
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