(1) If either employer or employee shall fail or refuse to accept the findings of the Director of the Division of Labor, then either shall have the right to proceed at law as provided.
(2) If the claim is meritorious, and if within the discretion of the director the claimant's lack of financial ability entitles him or her to the services of the Division of Labor, the director in the name of the State of Arkansas, for the benefit of the claimant, may institute action in any court of competent jurisdiction, without paying costs or giving bond for costs, and shall be entitled to all remedies available to litigants in the prosecution of actions and their enforcement, if successful.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to relieve an unsuccessful defendant from paying costs.