TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 7, 2020

John McBride, husband of country singer Martina McBride, and Blackbird Studios (which is co-owned by the singer) were found to have violated the retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, FOX 17 News reports. John McBride and Blackbird Studios were sued by former operations manager Rich Hanson, who claimed Blackbird failed to pay proper overtime wages to assistant recording engineers and unpaid interns were being assigned improper tasks, including running personal errands and performing security at the McBride's personal residence. After reporting the activity to the U.S. Department of Labor, Hanson was fired. The verdict includes damages for back pay, compensatory damages and attorney’s fees, which could make Blackbird and McBride’s total exposure in the half million dollar range, subject to court approval.