Circuit’s Wage Pact Approval Rule Doesn’t Bar a General Release

A chain of CBD stores can use an unapproved wage settlement to block a worker’s fraud suit despite precedent requiring court permission for the pay portion of the deal, an appellate panel said Wednesday.

The worker settled a Fair Labor Standards Act case against American Shaman Franchise Systems and related entities without seeking court or US Labor Department approval as the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit requires. His release of “any and all” claims dooms his fraudulent inducement complaint arising from facts predating the deal, even though the unapproved agreement can’t keep him from pursuing his wage ...