Report: Court finds Asmussen liable for $486,000 in damages

A federal district court in Kentucky found trainer Steve Asmussen liable for $486,520.26 in damages for wage and hour law violations.

BloodHorse reported that the judgment was entered Monday and is related to a decision that Asmussen's KDE Equine failed to pay employees overtime wages of $211,541.76 over two years.

Such violations have a two-year statute of limitations, according to the report, but that is extended to three years if the violations are found to be willful.

Asmussen was not found to be in willful violation in the initial round of the case.

After appeals from both sides, a federal appeals court affirmed the two-year overtime finding, according to the report, and sent the question of willfullness back to district court.

That was addressed Monday, according to the report, when judge Claria Horn Boom assessed an additional penalty of $31,718.37 for a third year of operations, bringing the total to $243,260.13. The addition of liquidated damages in the same amount doubled the judgment.