or unpaid overtime compensation plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, this low level of damages has proved insufficient to deter employers from stealing the wages of their employees. (17) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, require employers to keep records of employees’ pay, the lack of remedies for this requirement diminishes the effectiveness of the requirement. (18) While the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, provide for limited criminal penalties when employers violate the provisions of such Act, the Secretary of Labor rarely resorts to these penalties, causing them to serve as a hollow threat. (19) The statute of limitations under section 6 of the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 ( 29 U.S.C. 255 ), in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, precludes employees from bringing claims for wage theft 2 years after the cause of action accrued, or 3 years after the cause of action accrued if the claim is with respect to a willful violation by the employer. Additionally, the statute of limitations is not suspended while the Secretary of Labor investigates a complaint. These strict confines of the statute of limitations sometimes result in employees being deprived of their ability to institute a private lawsuit against their employer in order to recover their stolen wages. (20) Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 216(b) ), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, requires employees to affirmatively opt-in in order to be a party plaintiff in a collective action brought by another aggrieved employee seeking to recover stolen wages in court. This provision limits the ability of employees to unite and pursue private lawsuits against employers. (21) Under the penalty structure of the Fair