The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals just handed down a decision regarding a wage claim brought by several stewards onboard a NCL cruise ship. The decision is Wallace v. NCL and the opinion can be found here.
The decision is lengthy but wage appeals are pretty rare, hence this post.
The summary is:
This appeal involves the claims of six senior stateroom stewards (“Seafarers”) who worked aboard cruise ships operated by NCL. They assert that NCL has not paid them their full wages because their compensation does not take into account the amounts they were required to pay their helpers to complete their work on embarkation days. Consequently, they contend NCL is liable for compensatory and penalty wages under the Seaman’s Wage Act, 46 U.S.C. § 10313, et seq. (“the Act”). The district court awarded them compensatory but not penalty wages. The only substantive issue in this appeal concerns the Seafarers’ argument that the district court erred in not awarding them penalty wages.
After careful review, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm.
Enjoy.
