The Employment Law Group® Law Firm Obtains Favorable Jury Verdict and Damages Award in FLSA Case
On April 8, 2009, a federal judge ordered Martin & Gass, Inc. (“M&G”) to pay back pay and damages to a former employee for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The order follows a March 2009 verdict, where the jury found that M&G failed to pay the plaintiff, Charles Alford, overtime wages for 288 hours during the time period from June 2005 to March 2008. After the jury returned a verdict in favor of Mr. Alford, M&G argued that it should not be required to pay liquidated or double damages because it did not willfully violate the FLSA. The district court rejected this argument, finding that a lack of willfulness by itself is insufficient to demonstrate good faith and negate an award of liquidated damages. According to the court, an employer may avoid liquidated damages if it can show that its failure to obey the statute was in “good faith and predicated upon such reasonable grounds that it would be unfair to impose…more than a compensatory verdict.” Finding that M&G failed to make any inquiry before misclassifying Alford as an exempt employee, the court concluded that M&G was “at best extremely careless as to [its] obligation under the FLSA” and thus, it was liable for unpaid overtime as well as liquidated damages.
This case is significant because it rejects the commonly held notion that liquidated damages under the FLSA can be awarded only where the employer’s conduct is willful and affirms the principle that “liquidated damages…are the norm” rather than the exception for violations of the FLSA.
The order and opinion in Alford v. Martin & Gass, Inc., No. 1:08cv595 (E.D. Va. April 8, 2009) is available here.
Mr. Alford was represented by Scott Oswald and Nicholas Woodfield, Principals at The Employment Law Group® law firm. For more information about The Employment Law Group® law firm’s Wage and Hour Practice, visit http://www.employmentlawgroup.net/PracticeAreas/Non-Payment-of-Wages.asp.
