Scott v. City of New York
Over fifteen thousand current and former New York City police officers and detectives (Plaintiffs) asserted that the City of New York and the New York City Police Department (“Defendants”) systematically violated plaintiffs’ overtime rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). This lawsuit addressed the policies and practices of the nation’s largest police department, and plaintiffs claim hundreds of millions of dollars in damages based on defendants’ alleged failures concerning the accrual, use, and payment of overtime. Before the Court was the issue of whether defendants may be relieved from the FLSA’s liquidated damages provision on account of a good faith attempt to comply with the statute. Although evaluating the evidence presented by the Defendants of good faith, the Court noted that it was bound to find a willful violation, based on the juries prior finding of willfulness:
“If this Court were free to determine independently whether defendants acted in good faith, I would address evidence presented at trial concerning defendants’ consultation of in-house lawyers and outside counsel, along with other compliance efforts. However, the Second Circuit has squarely held-along with the majority of other Circuit that a district court may not find good faith after a jury has concluded that the employer willfully violated the FLSA. Therefore, I decline to find that defendants acted in good faith and hold that plaintiffs are entitled to liquidated damages in equal amount to compensatory damages resulting from the chart claim and the regular rate claim.”
Overtime Law Blog 