(a) An employer or employment agency that the Office finds to have violated this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty for a first violation of $1,000 per claimant, $ 5,000 per claimant for a second violation, and $10,000 per claimant for each subsequent violation, but not to exceed a total of $20,000 per violation. The Office shall collect the penalty from the violator and distribute the funds collected among any employee or potential employee who filed a claim regarding a violation of this chapter.
(b) Nothing set forth in this chapter shall be construed as creating, establishing, or authorizing a private cause of action by an aggrieved person against an employer or employment agency who has violated, or is alleged to have violated, the provisions of this chapter.
(May 31, 2012, D.C. Law 19-132, § 7, 59 DCR 2391.)