Virginia landscaping company owner arrested after failing to pay back wages

U.S. Marshals arrested the owner of a Hampton, Va., landscaping and snow removal company for failing to comply with federal court orders.

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Merryman Grounds Maintenance and its owner and president, David Merryman, to pay $45,846 in back wages and liquidated damages to employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The court also ordered Merryman Grounds Maintenance to provide additional information to help the division determine if the company owes back wages to additional employees.

Merryman and Merryman Grounds Maintenance continued to violate the court’s orders and the court issued a bench warrant for Merryman’s arrest. The court ordered Merryman to remain in custody until he pays the back wages due and produces all required records, including employee names and contact information.

“When employers like Merryman Grounds Maintenance Inc. and its owner and president, David Merryman, flout the authority of the U.S. Department of Labor to enforce the law, along with a court order requiring compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, we will use every instrument in our toolbox to bring them to justice,” Oscar L. Hampton III, regional solicitor said.