FLSA Overtime Violators May Be On The Hook For Post-Judgment Attorneys’ Fees
What happens if you are a prevailing party entitled to attorneys’ fees under the FLSA, but the defendant company is hiding assets or otherwise avoiding a judgment? Fraudulent conveyances to avoid a judgment are not uncommon in FLSA cases. If a company is willing to violate the FLSA to lower the bottom line, they probably won’t have a problem hiding assets to avoid a subsequent judgment.
While most statutory fee shifting provisions are interpreted as compensating only services performed up to the time of judgment, a recent opinion from the District of Oregon interprets a similar provision in the FLSA to include post-judgment collection efforts. The Court noted that “without such an award, a judgment is a hollow victory for a plaintiff who was improperly paid.” Deadbeat companies, be warned. The defendant company in the aforementioned case was up to its eyeballs in debt – over $200,000. The Court had little sympathy and piled the fees on top of the outstanding debt.
