The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is often understood as a job-protection statute—it gives eligible employees the right to take unpaid leave for serious health conditions, childbirth, or to care for family members. But what many people don’t realize is that the FMLA also carries real financial consequences for employers who violate it.
One of the most powerful—and often overlooked—tools in the statute is liquidated damages.
What Are Liquidated Damages?
Under the FMLA, an employer who violates the law is not only liable for the employee’s actual losses (like lost wages and benefits), but also for an additional, equal amount in liquidated damages.
In simple terms:
If an employee proves $50,000 in lost wages, the court will typically double that amount to $100,000.
This doubling provision is codified at 29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(1)(A)(iii).
Why Does the FMLA Include Liquidated Damages?
Liquidated damages serve two purposes:
- Compensation – They account for intangible harms that are hard to quantify, like stress, disruption, and uncertainty.
- Deterrence – They discourage employers from violating the statute by increasing the cost of noncompliance.
Congress built this into the FMLA to ensure that employers take their obligations seriously—not just as a technical requirement, but as a substantive right.
Are Liquidated Damages Automatic?
Almost.
The FMLA creates a presumption in favor of liquidated damages. That means if an employee wins their case, the court will award double damages unless the employer can prove otherwise.
To avoid liquidated damages, the employer must show:
- It acted in good faith, and
- It had reasonable grounds for believing its conduct complied with the FMLA.
This is a high bar.
Courts routinely hold that ignorance of the law, sloppy internal processes, or failure to properly investigate employee rights will not meet this standard.
What Counts as “Good Faith”?
“Good faith” requires more than just saying “we didn’t mean to violate the law.”
Employers typically must show they:
- Took affirmative steps to understand the FMLA
- Sought legal or HR guidance
- Applied policies consistently and carefully
- Made a reasonable, informed decision under the circumstances
If an employer fails to follow its own policies, ignores medical certifications, or disciplines an employee without properly analyzing FMLA protections, courts are unlikely to find good faith.
Common Scenarios Triggering Liquidated Damages
Liquidated damages often arise in cases involving:
- Termination or discipline during protected leave
- Failure to designate leave as FMLA-qualifying
- Interference with an employee’s right to take leave
- Retaliation for requesting or using FMLA leave
In many of these cases, the employer’s mistake is not subtle—it’s a breakdown in process, communication, or basic compliance.
Practical Impact in Litigation
From a litigation standpoint, liquidated damages dramatically change the value of a case.
Consider this:
- Back pay: $80,000
- Benefits: $20,000
- Total actual damages: $100,000
- Liquidated damages: +$100,000
- Total exposure: $200,000 (before attorneys’ fees and costs)
Because the FMLA also allows recovery of attorneys’ fees, the true financial risk to employers can be substantial.
Takeaways for Employers
- Train managers and HR personnel on FMLA requirements
- Document decision-making processes carefully
- When in doubt, pause and analyze before taking action
- Seek legal guidance on close calls
The cost of getting it wrong is not just the underlying violation—it’s potentially double damages.
Takeaways for Employees
If you’ve been denied leave, terminated, or retaliated against after requesting FMLA leave, your damages may be greater than you think.
Liquidated damages mean that the law recognizes not just what you lost—but the seriousness of the violation itself.
Bottom line:
Under the FMLA, violations are expensive by design. Liquidated damages ensure that employers who disregard employee rights don’t just make things right—they pay a meaningful price for getting it wrong.