Although the lack of non-economic damages cut in favor of the defendants on this guidepost, the Sixth Circuit has never conditioned punitive damages on juries awarding non-economic damages.
A jury’s award of punitive damages in favor of H-2A agricultural workers recruited from Guatemala was upheld on appeal to the Sixth Circuit. The workers alleged illegal conduct, including the defendants charging them illegal recruitment fees, subjecting them to squalid living conditions, underpaying them, restricting their freedom, and threatening to deport them if they alerted anyone of their plight. The jury awarded the plaintiffs compensatory and punitive damages but not non-economic damages. Because the jury awarded the plaintiffs economic compensatory damages only, the defendants contended that the jury lacked any basis to award punitive damages. However, the appeals court held that the award of punitive damages comported with due process. The defendants’ conduct was reprehensible; the ratio of compensatory to punitive damages was modest and well within constitutionally permissible limits; and the defendants received fair notice that their conduct might result in penalties, fines, or punitive damages in the amount awarded here (Gomez-Excheverria v. Purpose Point Harvesting, LLC, No. 25-2080 (6th Cir. Aug. 28, 2026)).
H-2A visa program. Under the H-2A visa program, employers may hire foreign nationals for seasonal agricultural jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor closely regulates...
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