To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) has revoked a Trump-era policy that reduced the pre-litigation amount an employer would have to pay to settle with the DOL for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by deemphasizing the use of liquidated damages in settlement discussions. Under the FLSA, employers who fail to properly pay minimum wages, overtime compensation, or violate the protections for tipped employees are liable for the unpaid wages and for an additional, equal amount, called liquidated damages (i.e., double the back pay the employer owes). Before June 23, 2020, it had been the policy of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) to seek liquidated damages in most pre-litigation settlement discussions with employers. However, in May 2020, then-President Trump issued an Executive Order purportedly directing agencies to use deregulatory actions to encourage economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of those “deregulatory actions,” on June 23, 2020, the DOL changed its policy, explaining it would no longer presumptively seek pre-litigation liquidated damages. Instead, liquidated damages would only be sought when there was “clear evidence” of bad faith and willfulness or a history of violations by the employer. Further, if an investigator felt that liquidated damages