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 prevailed on Fair Labor Standards Act claims for uncompensated overtime pay and failure to include nondiscretionary bonuses in overtime calculations. The court awarded nominal damages of $2.00 to the plaintiff and $2,500 in attorney's fees plus $450 in costs.
What This Ruling Means
Smith v. Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc. - Plain Language Summary
What Happened:
Smith worked at Simmons Prepared Foods and claimed the company failed to pay him properly for overtime work. Specifically, he said the employer didn't compensate him for extra hours worked beyond 40 per week and didn't include certain bonus payments when calculating what he should have earned for overtime.
What the Court Decided:
The court ruled in Smith's favor. The judge found that Simmons Prepared Foods violated federal wage laws by not paying for overtime hours and by incorrectly calculating overtime pay. While the actual damages were modest at $2.00, the court ordered the employer to pay $2,500 in attorney's fees and $450 in court costs.
Why This Matters:
This case reinforces that employers must properly compensate employees for all overtime hours worked and include nondiscretionary bonuses (money promised as part of employment terms) when calculating overtime pay rates. The significant attorney's fees award shows courts will support workers taking legal action for wage violations, even when actual damages are small. Workers have legal protections regarding how overtime must be calculated.
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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