GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana man who sought wages for lunch breaks he didn’t take has won his claim, although a judge awarded him just $35.
Joe Lehman was seeking $3,543 he said Thor Industries’ Postle Aluminum division owed him for lunch breaks he didn’t take while working as a truck driver for about a year and a half.
The Elkhart Truth reports that an Elkhart County magistrate ruled Lehman’s favor, but granted him a judgment of only $35, plus $125 in court costs.
The magistrate expressed frustration that both sides didn’t present more evidence.
Lehman submitted just five daily driving logs to support his claim. Based on those, the court calculated that the Elkhart man was owed $7 for each half-hour break period he’d worked through during those five days.