An employee who complains to the DLSE and seeks relief from the Labor Commissioner in a Berman hearing is entitled to back wages for the limitations period calculated backwards from the date the employee files an initial report or claim with the DLSE, not from the later date of filing a formal complaint. Though it doesn’t say so expressly, Lab. Code 558.1 grants an employee a private right of action against individuals who cause an employer to fail to pay minimum wages to the employee. The award against those individuals is mandatory, not discretionary, and while Lab. Code 558.1 operates only prospectively, it relates back to 2013 when a predecessor statute first imposed liability on individuals for minimum wage violations. Waiting time penalties are computed on the full amount of the employee’s daily wages, including non-monetary compensation, such as forgiven rent in this case.