March 16, 2022
JD Supra
On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (which enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and other federal wage and hour laws) announced that one of its top enforcement priorities is to protect workers from retaliation for exercising their rights. The USDOL launched an anti-retaliation page on its web site and published a Field Assistance Bulletin on the subject of retaliation.
In the Field Assistance Bulletin, the USDOL reiterated that both internal complaints to an employer as well as external complaints to the Wage and Hour Division or to a court are protected activities. An employee is protected from retaliation even if the employee’s internal or external complaint is determined to be without merit. The penalties for unlawful retaliation can include reinstatement (if the employee was discharged), injunctive relief (such as removal of a disciplinary memo from the employee’s file), back pay and an amount equal to the back pay owed as liquidated damages