My understanding is that after violations the USDOL investigators follow up to ensure compliance. Fines go up if they’re not paid promptly. For repeat violations the penalties go up and can include jail time.
Seems like there ought to be annual reports summarizing enforcement actions, fines levied vs. collected, etc.
it says in the link “WEST COVINA, CA – Fourteen restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area – operating under five different entities – will pay 100 employees a total of $126,142 after U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigations found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).”
Who knows how timely that is though.
My wife is a federal prosecutor - in cases with restitution it takes some time to get it to victims