DOL’s $22 Million Jury Verdict in Battery Maker Wage Case Upheld

The US Labor Department defeated a battery maker’s attempt to overturn a more than $22 million verdict in a wage enforcement case, but the agency failed to convince a federal appeals court to award liquidated damages Thursday.

East Penn Manufacturing Co. tried to “dodge” the “basic requirement” that hourly workers earn hourly pay, but the trial judge correctly rejected the company’s arguments, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said. The opinion establishes controlling precedent requiring employers to pay for the actual time employees spend changing and showering as part of their work.

The lower court also ...