Having trouble getting employer/individual to pay up wages due

[KarmaM5]

This is an interesting situation.

I worked, on contract, in Broward County, FL, in 2015. I was never paid for my work and I eventually took it to the local worker/wage division office to straighten out.

-My employer was given several letters and summons to respond to my allegations, which he promptly ignored.
-The county division of wages set a date and summoned me and my employer to a legal hearing, in which, I was the only party to show up.
-The county awarded me the statute amount of 2x my claimed compensation, totaling $1400. The county issued this letter to my employer, which, again, he promptly ignored.
-I contacted the wage office and they said that there's no more I can really do. I have a legal document as "leverage" but don't know what to do with it.

Do I take it to small claims court? Small claims court also states that they cannot guarantee recovery of any awarded amount. It seems that my former employer is the smart one for simply ignoring any legal notice that comes his way. I keep running around trying to press legal matters against this jerk, but it seems that it's easy enough for him to pretend I don't exist and the law doesn't seem to be on my side.

 

[cbg]

Your state does not have a Department of Labor, or at least not one with any teeth. As you have discovered. So you have two options; small claims court or the Federal DOL. The advantage of small claims court is that the Feds will only support Federal minimum wage plus any overtime.