(a) A civil action to recover unpaid wages and liquidated damages may be maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction.

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Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 1113

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302

(b) Whenever the Department determines that wages, as required under this chapter, have not been paid, the Department may bring any legal action necessary to collect such claim. With the consent of the aggrieved employee, the Department shall have the power to settle and adjust any such claim to the same extent as might the assigning employee.

(c) Any judgment entered for a plaintiff in an action brought under this section shall include an award for the costs of the action, the necessary costs of prosecution and reasonable attorney’s fees, all to be paid by the defendant. In the case of actions brought under this section by the Department, expenses and attorney’s fees shall be remitted by the Department to the State Treasurer. The Department shall not be required to pay the filing fee or other costs of the action or fees of any nature or to file bond or other security of any nature in connection with such action or with proceedings supplementary thereto or as a condition precedent to the availability to the Department of any process in aid of such action or proceedings. The Department shall have the power to join various claimants in 1 preferred claim or lien and, in case of suit, to join them in 1 cause of action.

19 Del. C. 1953, § ?1113; 55 Del. Laws, c. 19, § ?1; 56 Del. Laws, c. 442, § ?1; 64 Del. Laws, c. 226, §§ ?2, 3;