While 45 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wage laws, that does not mean they are followed or enforced, according to a new report released by the National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia University Law School.

The first-of-its-kind nationwide study found that enforcement is lax in many states, in part because of a lack of funds and also an unwillingness to use every available weapon to ensure compliance. 

 Among the study’s key findings:

• While the number of low-wage workers actually rose in 2009, funding for wage enforcement decreased as governors and state legislators looked to balance state budgets in the recession.
• Wage and hour enforcement varies widely among the states. Some state labor departments have comprehensive mandates, which include oversight of child labor, worker training and employment discrimination. But Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida have no state agency that enforces wage and hour standards. Workers in those five states must rely on the federal government or private lawyers to seek back wages.
• A majority of states do not fine or penalize employers who violate wage and hour  laws. So employers have little incentive to obey wage and hour laws if the only repercussion for violating them is to have to pay wages owed in the first place.

As the study’s authors warn:

Without meaningful enforcement by state regulators, some employers will simply disregard their legal obligations if doing so allows them to save time, money or effort, putting the majority who wish to abide by the law at a significant competitive disadvantage. This creates a regulatory race to the bottom by states as they seek to compete to attract businesses.

Read the full report here.