Enforcement

(a) Enforcement by the Secretary To ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act, or any regulation or order issued under this Act, the Secretary, may take the following actions: (1) Investigate The Secretary may— (A) review and analyze disclosures submitted under section 4(c)(1) by a covered digital labor platform provider and issue public reports regarding compensation and hours by industry; (B) collect any additional data regarding the compensation, hours, and other conditions and practices in any industry for which covered digital labor platform providers are subject to this Act; (C) inspect any place or record (and make such transcriptions thereof), question any app-based worker, and investigate any facts, conditions, practices, or matters as the Secretary may deem necessary or appropriate to determine whether a covered digital labor platform provider has violated any provision of this Act, or which may aid in the enforcement of the provisions of this Act; and (D) make requests for information, as authorized under paragraph (2), on a joint basis with another Federal agency, a State attorney general, or a State agency. (2) Reporting The Secretary may require, by general or special orders and in addition to the disclosures required in section 4(c)(1), a covered digital labor platform provider to file with the Secretary, in such form as the Secretary may prescribe, annual or special reports or answers in writing to specific questions, furnishing to the Secretary such information or records as the Secretary may require as to the organization, business, conduct, practices, management, and relation to other corporations, partnerships, and individuals, of the covered digital labor platform provider. (3) Enforcement The Secretary shall receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve, any complaints from app-based workers of violations of sections 4, 5, 6, and 8 in the same manner that the Secretary receives, investigates, and attempts to resolve complaints of violations of sections 6 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206, 207). (4) Public education The Secretary shall engage in public education, including on its website and its outreach to stakeholders, to inform app-based workers of the rights pursuant to this Act. (5) Litigation The Solicitor of Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary in any litigation brought under this subsection. (6) Referral for criminal proceedings If the Secretary, in the course of the performance of any action or duty under this Act, obtains evidence that any covered digital labor platform provider has engaged in conduct that may constitute a violation of Federal criminal law, the Secretary shall refer the matter to the Attorney General for prosecution under any applicable law. Nothing in this paragraph shall affect any other authority of the Secretary to disclose information. (b) Private right of action (1) In general (A) Affected app-based worker Notwithstanding any action by the Secretary under subsection (a)(3) or subsection (c), an app-based worker may commence a civil action against a covered digital labor platform provider or, as applicable, a vendor of the covered digital labor platform provider for an alleged violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) of section 4(a) or section 5, 6, or 8 in any Federal court of competent jurisdiction. (B) Consumer Notwithstanding any action by the Secretary under subsection (a)(3) or subsection (c), a consumer may commence a civil action against any covered digital labor platform provider for an alleged violation of section 4(b) in any Federal court of competent jurisdiction. (C) Authorized agent Notwithstanding any action by the Secretary under subsection (a)(3) or subsection (c), an authorized agent of an app-based worker may commence a civil action against a covered digital labor platform provider for an alleged violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) of section 4(a) or section 5, 6, or 8 in any Federal court of competent jurisdiction as if the authorized agent were the app-based worker. (D) Labor organization Notwithstanding any action by the Secretary under subsection (a)(3) or subsection (c), a labor organization or a worker center that is adversely affected by an alleged violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) of section 4(a) or section 5, 6, or 8 or that represents an app-based worker who is adversely affected by such an alleged violation may commence a civil action against the covered digital labor platform provider or, as applicable, a vendor of the covered digital labor provider that violates such section in any Federal court of competent jurisdiction. (2) Relief (A) In general In a civil action brought under paragraph (1) in which the plaintiff prevails, the court shall award— (i) statutory damages in accordance with the applicable provisions of subparagraph (B); (ii) any actual damages sustained plus an equal amount as liquidated damages; (iii) reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs; (iv) appropriate equitable relief; and (v) appropriate injunctive relief. (B) Statutory damages Subject to subparagraph (D), statutory damages under this subparagraph shall be the following: (i) Failure to make proper disclosures (I) Timeliness of notices For any violation of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 4(a)— (aa) an amount that is not less than $20,000 per failure to provide a notice required under such paragraph; or (bb) an amount that is not less than $5,000 per failure to provide a notice required under such paragraph in, as determined through regulation by the Secretary, a timely manner. (II) Format of notices For any violation of section 4(a)(6), an amount that is not less than $1,000 per violation. (III) Receipts, pay statements, and individualized algorithmic wage setting For any violation of paragraph (4) or (5) of section 4(a) or section 5(c), an amount that is not less than $5,000 per violation. (IV) Consumer notice For any violation of section 4(b), an amount that is not less than $2,000 per violation. (V) Quarterly reporting and publication For any violation of paragraph (1) or paragraph (2)(A) section 4(c), an amount that is not less than $20,000 per violation. (ii) Violations of take rate caps For any violation of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 5(a) with respect to an app-based worker, an amount that is the greater of— (I) an amount that is 4 times the difference between the maximum permissible take rate under such section and the amount actually paid to the app-based worker; or (II) $20,000 per violation. (iii) Data preservation violations For any violation of section 6, an amount that is not less than $20,000 per violation. (iv) Whistleblower violations For any violation of section 8, an amount that is not less than $25,000 per violation. (C) Temporary whistleblower relief In addition to relief for a prevailing party under subparagraph (A), a court may award punitive damages and temporary injunctive relief while a case is pending, including reinstatement. All relief is available to a prevailing whistleblower plaintiff regardless of whether the plaintiff is authorized to work in the United States. (D) Adjustment of statutory damages The Secretary, not later than September 1 of each calendar year, shall adjust the dollar amounts referred to in subparagraph (B) by the percent increase, if any, in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (United States city average), or a successor index, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or a successor agency, for the most recent 12-month period for which data is available. (E) Joint and several liability In a civil action brought under this subsection against a covered digital labor platform provider and a vendor of the covered digital labor platform provider for a violation of section 6 in which the plaintiff prevails, the covered digital labor platform provider and the vendor shall be jointly and severally liable for the violation. (c) Civil monetary penalties (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may impose a penalty on any covered digital labor platform provider that violates any provision of this Act in an amount that is— (A) not less than $25,000 for any violation; (B) not less than $50,000 for any violation that occurs not more than 2 years after another such violation; or (C) not less than $100,000 for any willful violation. (2) Amount determination In determining the amount of any penalty under this subsection, the Secretary may consider the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the business charged, the gravity of the violation, and whether the amount is sufficient to deter future violations. (3) Use of amounts (A) Establishment of fund There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the Covered Digital Labor Platform Investigation Fund (referred to in this paragraph as the Fund). (B) Deposit Any amount collected as a penalty under this subsection shall be deposited into the Fund. (C) Use of funds Amounts in the Fund shall be available to the Secretary, without fiscal year limitation and without further appropriation for purposes of reimbursement of any costs of investigating violations of this Act, determining whether any such violations occurred, and collecting penalties under this section.