More than 1,300 Wisconsin workers are owed $1.5M in back wages. See if you're one of them.

Over 1,300 Wisconsin workers are owed more than $1.5 million in back wages, and you can check to see if you're one of them, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department's Wage and Hour Division recovered these back wages, but "a significant portion" of that money remains unclaimed because some workers can't be located, Scott Allen, a department spokesperson, said in an email.

"In many cases, the employees change jobs or change addresses and cannot be notified of the money due them," Allen said. "Name changes or an employer’s failure to retain contact information can also make it difficult for us to find employees and put back wages recovered into their hands."

The division can only hold unclaimed back wages for three years, though, before it's required to turn the funds over to the Department of the Treasury, he said. So, the agency developed an online search tool, Workers Owed Wages (WOW), into which people can enter information and find out if they are owed wages.

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If there is money, workers will be directed to the Wage and Hour Division office that can help them get their check quickly, according to Allen. Calls can be answered, confidentially, in over 200 languages.

The WOW system is available in English and Spanish.

Reach Becky Jacobs at bjacobs@gannett.com or 920-993-7117. Follow her on Twitter at @ruthyjacobs.