A laborer for an Orange County waterproofing company who sued his employer for failure to pay appropriate wages has won a $150,000 court judgment.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause cited repeated delay tactics by Drip Drop Waterproofing and owner Joel Reich in granting Luis Sergio Camacho’s demand for compensation.
“In essence,” Judge Krause ruled on Jan. 27, Reich and Drip Drop sought to punish Camacho “for expressing a willingness to be flexible … when defendants repeatedly failed to make good on their promises. That would be a perverse outcome.”
Reich, of Monroe, and Drip Drop, of Chester, employed Camacho from 2013 to 2022. Four years ago, Camacho sued, claiming he was working six days a week for at least 69 hours. He was paid a flat daily wage, ranging from $130 to $210, and received no overtime compensation.
Last year, on the eve of a trial, both sides agreed to settle the dispute. Reich and Drip Drop would pay Camacho $75,000 in 17 monthly payments. But if they defaulted on a payment and failed to correct the deficiency in 21 days, they would have to pay him $150,000.
Reich and Drip Drop missed the first two payments and ignored inquiries by Camacho’s attorney, according to court records. Then last July they submitted checks totaling $10,000.
Camacho’s attorney destroyed the checks and advised Reich and Drip Drop to pay the full $75,000 within two weeks. If they failed, Camacho would ask the court to enforce the settlement agreement for $150,000.
No payment was made.
Camacho’s attorney agreed to a compromise, under court supervision, if Reich and Drip Drop made a $22,188 “catch up” payment by last Aug. 15. The defendants failed to pay or to provide a firm date for making the payment.
Then Camacho’s attorney asked the court to enforce the $150,000 settlement.
The defendants do not dispute that they “voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently” agreed to the settlement, Judge Krause states in his decision.
Instead, they argued, Camacho waived his right to invoke the settlement by having his attorney continue to negotiate a potential payment.
“To reach such a conclusion,” Judge Krause states, “would be to reward defendants for their intransigence and to penalize [Camacho] and his counsel for his efforts to attempt to resolve this dispute without having to seek judicial intervention.”
He ordered Reich and Drip Drop to pay Camacho $150,000, unspecified statutory costs, attorney fees incurred in enforcing the judgment, and interest.
