If that’s tongue in cheek disregard all this bullshit?
HR is nothing more than an apparatus or extension of a company’s law department. The eyes and ears so to speak. Most employees incorrectly believe HR to be their friend, but that is not their job at all. Their job is pretty much to protect the company. Putting out small fires before they become big ones. If you found help in the process of a complaint, good deal. Chances are whatever your issue was, was detrimental to the company.
Wage and hour on the other hand enforces wages, record keeping, overtime, David Bacon and The service contract act including the Fair labor standards act. Not to mention FMLA, garnishment of wages, polygraph testing, pretty much everything. And when there is an issue the letter you receive has United States of America vs whoever they are going after on the letterhead. It’s intimidating I don’t care who you are.
Can you imagine such a group with oversight over all of college football? Including its athletic directors, chancellors, or board members. All one disgruntled player would have to do is go to their local federal building and file a complaint. And unlike the NCAA (DOL) wage and hour has subpoena power. Discovery would also be a hell of a story should it come into play.