US v. Edwards: Edwards “pleaded guilty to forced labor” under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act after “effectively enslave[ing]” an intellectually disabled man for five years at the restaurant Edwards managed (the man had worked there for 19 years prior while being paid). After imposing a sentence of 120 months, the district court ordered Edwards to pay restitution of approximately $273,000, representing the unpaid wages, but declined to include an “additional equal amount as liquidated damages.”
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit reversed the restitution order. The court noted that the TVPA requires restitution in the “full amount of the victim’s losses” and defines that with reference to the Fair Labor Standards Act. That Act specifically requires the payment of liquidated damages when an employer fails to meet minimum wage and overtime requirements. The court also recognized that “awarding liquidated damages for violations of the FLSA’s minimum-wage and overtime provisions is the norm.” Therefore, the district court erred by not including liquidated damages in the restitution aware imposed upon Edwards.
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