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“You might feel better if they gave you some cash…”

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
02/19/2024
Damages, Employment Discrimination
That’s a line from the Eagles’ “Get over it” (track 1 on the 1994 album Hell Freezes Over). If you watch any TV courtroom drama – you would think that lawyers take a case and wind up having the jury verdict in less than one hour (with time outs for ads).  And justice always prevails.  Of course, reality is far from that imaginary world.  In the real world everyone is entitled to their decade in court. In the employment discrimination...
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"Not Willful" Is Not The Same As "No Bad Faith" - A Lesson In FLSA Liquidated Damages

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
08/06/2019
Damages, Employer Liability, Wage & Hour
After a jury verdict was returned in favor of a group of Baltimore nightclub exotic dancers for their claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Maryland wage and hour law against the nightclub owner and the two nightclub entities, the presiding Magistrate Judge also awarded liquidated damages to the plaintiffs.  The club owner appealed on various grounds including questioning how the judge was able to award liquidated damages when the jury had...
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Not Just “Meat Counter Culture”: When Same-Sex Harassment Violates Title VII

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
08/10/2018
Damages, Employment Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Supervisor Liability
Most of the time, the stories of workplace sexual harassment we hear about consist of conduct occurring between men and women.  Yet Title VII’s ban on discrimination because of sex encompasses same-sex harassment in the workplace as well.  Such was the lesson learned for a Chicago, Illinois grocery store that had justified the harassment of a male butcher as mere “meat counter culture” in Smith v. Rosebud Farm, Inc., Case No. 17-2626,...
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Ninth Circuit Upholds Large Attorneys Fee Award

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
12/23/2013
Damages, Employment Discrimination
One of the reasons lawyers have a bad reputation with lay people is because of the fees they charge, especially in highly contested litigation matters.  Plaintiffs sometimes feel that they should not have to pay lawyers to prosecute their (arguably) clear cut claims, while defendants sometimes feel that they should not have to pay lawyers to defend against (arguably) frivolous claims.  Regardless of whether you represent plaintiffs or defendants,...
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Liquidated Damages In FLSA Retaliation Claims Are Not Mandatory

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
02/18/2013
Damages, Retaliation, Wage & Hour
Is it a requirement to award liquidated damages in a wage and hour retaliation case?  The question has been raised before and rejected.  It has now been rejected again.  This time, in Moore v. Appliance Direct, Inc., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 3047 (11th Cir. Feb. 13, 2013), the Eleventh Circuit held that the plain language of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) makes the award of liquidated damages discretionary and agreed with the Sixth and Eighth...
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