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As per the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court, Fair Labor Standards Act violators can now be hit with emotional distress damage payouts as well.

The ruling came as the result of a case involving Santiago Pineda, a maintenance worker and his employer/landlord JTCH Apartments.  As part of Pineda’s compensation, he was given a discounted rent.  When Pineda filed a wage-and-hour lawsuit against the apartment complex to recover overtime pay for work he said he performed, JTCH reacted by evicting Pineda and his wife. 

In the notice Pineda and his wife received, the reason for eviction was cited as a failure to pay rent in an amount equal to the discount he received.  On top of the original lawsuit, Pineda tacked on a claim of emotional distress due to the fact that he could lose his home.  At this point, the court needed to determine whether or not FLSA allows for the recovery of emotional distress damages.

The court ultimately said that the FLSA’s damage provision allows for “such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate,” and is expansive enough to include emotional distress damages.  The court remanded the case to a jury to determine the amount of emotional distress Pineda would be entitled to.  The jury ruled that JTCH owes Pineda $6,600 for overtime and retaliation, in addition to $76,000 in attorney fees.  However, this does not include emotional distress payouts, since this number has not been decided on yet.

According to HR experts, employers need to be making sure they’re following laws now more than ever because any employee who feels they’ve been wronged can collect on multiple claims, including emotional distress.