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CA9 Upholds $23M Award Against GEO: Nwauzor v. The GEO Group, Inc.

January 16, 2025 (1 min read)

Nwauzor v. The GEO Group, Inc.

"In 2017, a class of detainees and Washington State each sued GEO in federal court for violations of Washington’s Minimum Wage Act (“MWA”). The district court consolidated the actions. A jury awarded $17,287,063.05 in back pay damages to the detainee class. After a bench trial, the court awarded $5,950,340.00 in unjust enrichment to Washington State and enjoined GEO from employing detainees without paying Washington’s minimum wage. GEO appealed to this court. After hearing oral argument, we certified three questions to the Washington Supreme Court. Nwauzor v. GEO Group, Inc. (“Nwauzor”), 62 F.4th 509 (9th Cir. 2023). We have now received the answers to those questions. We affirm the judgment of the district court."