Inhumanity exposed, remedy enhanced in 'shocking' involuntary servitude case

It's one of the most horrific cases with employment implications to be decided in recent years. The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia employers) recently held the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) (a statute passed to implement the Thirteenth Amendment against slavery or involuntary servitude) requires a person found guilty of obtaining forced labor to compensate the victim for the "full amount" of his losses, including the value of his labor as provided by the "minimum wage and overtime guarantees of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)." In short, the TVPA's guarantee extends to the FLSA's liquidated damages provision. The appellate court sent the matter back to the district judge in South Carolina to recalculate the victim's compensation to include the liquidated damages.

Facts

The facts in the following case are both sad and shocking. For more than five years (from 2009 to 2014), Bobby Edwards, the white manager of J&J Cafeteria in Conway, South Carolina, effectively enslaved a black worker (referred to with the fictitious name "Jack"), forcing him to work more than 100 hours per week without pay.

Jack began to work part-time at J&J as a dishwasher when he was 12 years old. He has an intellectual disability and an IQ of 70. He eventually dropped out of high school and worked full-time at the restaurant.