UPDATE: DOL Abandons Mandatory “Double Damages” in Pre-Suit Investigations

On June 27, 2025, the United States Department of Labor—the agency entrusted with enforcement of federal wage and hour laws—issued a Field Assistance Bulletin to its various offices across the country, announcing a prohibition on seeking to have employers pay liquidated damages (i.e., an amount equal, and in addition, to the unpaid wages at issue) in pre-suit investigations and settlements. This is welcome news for employers.

Under the first Trump administration, the DOL had adopted the same prohibition to encourage resolution of such investigations without the need for litigation and to ensure workers received more timely reimbursement for unpaid wages.

However, that prohibition did not last long beyond Trump’s first presidential term.  During the Biden administration, the DOL reversed the Trump-era policy and instructed its investigative offices to require employers to pay “double damages” to resolve pre-suit investigations that entailed findings of unpaid wages.

Fortunately for employers, this hardline approach of the Biden administration, however, has now come to end.  The DOL has returned to the enforcement standard articulated during the first Trump administration, asserting that the DOL does not have the legal authority to oversee and impose such “double damages” administratively pre-suit.

Do not hesitate to contact a member of our Labor & Employment Team here at Sandberg Phoenix for further guidance on wage and hour compliance.