Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a company that has been found to have violated the law’s minimum wage and overtime requirements may be liable for not only the unpaid wages, but also an additional equal amount in liquidated damages.
In the past, this has meant that the Department of Labor (DOL) would seek to recover “double damages” when conducting administrative investigations of wage and hour complaints.
That changed with the issuance of a new Field Assistance Bulletin on June 27, 2025, in which the DOL announced that its agents are no longer authorized to seek liquidated damages in any administrative investigation or pre-litigation settlement of wage and hour claims. Although the effects of this policy change remain to be seen, it should mean that employers will face smaller penalties and be able to settle FLSA claims more quickly and affordably.
It’s important to note that this change does not affect the DOL’s ability to seek liquidated damages in court proceedings, nor does it limit employees’ rights to pursue such damages in a lawsuit under the FLSA.
