Employers face two significant legal consequences for violating the FLSA. First, a worker has the right to file a civil lawsuit to recover back pay and other types of monetary damages. Filing a lawsuit against an employer for not paying overtime can quickly generate costly legal fees, as well as negative publicity for an employer. The outcome of a civil lawsuit can include an order to compensate a worker for back pay and monetary damages that equal the value of back pay.
The federal government has the legal power to penalize an employer that violated the overtime provision of the FLSA. As a part of the DOL, the Wage and Hour Division can issue a fine of up to $10,000 for every FLSA overtime violation. If the DOL discovers an employer has repeatedly defied the legal standards written into the FLSA, the federal government agency has the legal power to seek criminal charges against a non-compliant employer.