Jhon Cristopher was enslaved at his workplace by the owner where he was beaten and belittled when he was not good enough.
He was enslaved at a restaurant and will now receive a settlement of over $500,000
A mentally disabled black man will receive a settlement of more than $500,000 after being enslaved at a South Carolina restaurant for five years, a court ruled.
Bobby Paul Edwards, the owner who is white, pleaded guilty in June 2018 to one count of forced labor for forcing through “violence and other forced labor” citizen John Christopher Smith at his restaurant for more than 100 hours a week without pay.
Edwards was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the guilt and has been ordered to pay him $272,000.
But last month a court ruled that the amount should be doubled, so Smith would receive more than $545,000.
An employer who fails to pay minimum wage and overtime to a worker is “liable for damages” in an amount equal to the lost compensation.
The abuses began in 2009, when Edwards was the manager of the J&J cafeteria located in Conway, about 15 miles from Myrtle Beach.
The Justice Department claimed Edwards subjected Smith to “physical and emotional abuse” when he didn’t work fast enough or made a mistake.
He would beat him with a belt and even frying pans and also insulted him with racial epithets “to belittle and demean him,” the agency said.
