§666.  Damages

A.  An employer who violates the provisions of this Chapter shall be liable to the affected employees in the amount of the employee's unpaid wages and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

B.  The award of monetary relief shall be limited to those violations which have occurred within a thirty-six-month period prior to the employee's written notice to the employer, as required in R.S. 23:665(A).

C.  In cases where suit is filed in the district court, no monetary relief may be awarded the employee for losses incurred between the date that the district court rendered its final judgment and the date upon which all appeals of that judgment have been exhausted.

D.  Interim earnings by the employee discriminated against shall operate to reduce the monetary relief otherwise allowable under this Chapter.

E.  Nothing in this Chapter prevents the settlement of a claim by agreement of the employer and employee for a lesser amount than the employee alleges the employee is due.

F.  An employee found by a court to have brought a frivolous claim under this Chapter shall be held liable to the employer or any agent of the employer who was named a defendant in the suit, or both, for reasonable damages, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs incurred as a result of the claim.

Acts 2013, No. 374, §1.