Smith v. Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc.
Case Details
- Nature of Suit — the legal category of the dispute
- 710 Labor: Fair Standards
- Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
- Unknown
- Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
- summary judgment
- State
- Arkansas
- Circuit
- Eighth Circuit
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
Plaintiff won summary judgment on FLSA and Arkansas Minimum Wage Act claims for unpaid overtime. Court awarded $2.00 total ($1.00 in unpaid wages/overtime and $1.00 in liquidated damages).
What This Ruling Means
Smith v. Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc.
What Happened
Smith worked for Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc. and claimed the company failed to pay him for overtime work, violating federal and Arkansas state wage laws. He sued to recover the wages he believed he was owed.
What the Court Decided
The court ruled in Smith's favor on his wage theft claims. The judge found that Simmons Prepared Foods violated both federal overtime law and Arkansas's minimum wage requirements. However, the court awarded Smith only $2 in total damages—$1 for unpaid wages and overtime, plus $1 in additional penalties.
Why This Matters for Workers
This case confirms that workers have legal protections against wage theft, and employers can be held accountable in court. Though the damages here were small, the ruling establishes that unpaid overtime violations are taken seriously by courts. Workers who believe they weren't paid properly for overtime work have the right to pursue claims through the legal system, even against large food service companies.
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
More Rulings in This Case
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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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