Deskins v. Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
Case Details
- Nature of Suit — the legal category of the dispute
- Labor: Fair Standards
- Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
- Unknown
- Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
- consent decree
- State
- West Virginia
- Circuit
- Fourth Circuit
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
The parties settled a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action for unpaid overtime wages. The named plaintiff Melissa Deskins and defendant Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College agreed to a $20,000 settlement, with $9,000 allocated to attorney fees and expenses and $11,000 to compensate the plaintiff for claimed unpaid overtime wages.
What This Ruling Means
Deskins v. Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College Settlement
What Happened
Melissa Deskins worked at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College and believed the school failed to pay her for overtime hours worked. She filed a lawsuit claiming wage theft—specifically that her employer violated federal labor laws requiring overtime pay for hours worked beyond the standard 40-hour week.
What the Court Decided
Rather than go to trial, the college and Deskins agreed to settle the dispute for $20,000. Of this amount, $11,000 went directly to Deskins to compensate her for unpaid overtime wages, while $9,000 covered her attorney's fees and legal expenses.
Why This Matters for Workers
This case reminds employees that they have legal protections against wage theft, even when working for educational institutions. If you believe your employer owes you overtime pay, you can pursue a lawsuit. Employers cannot simply refuse to compensate workers for extra hours. Settlement cases like this one show that workers can successfully recover lost wages with legal help.
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
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This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes, claim types, and summaries are extracted using AI analysis and may be incomplete or inaccurate. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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