A recent case from the Eastern District of Tennessee discusses the enforcement of settlement agreements in a FLSA case. See Solis v. Magana, 2010 WL 1257859 (E.D. Tenn. Mar. 26, 2010).

In this case, the defendant agreed to settle a FLSA case brought by the U.S. Department of Labor. The amount of the settlement was agreed upon, as well as a payment schedule. Some months later, before the Court had approved the final settlement, the defendant sought to modify the payment schedule. The DOL refused and sought to enforce the parties’ agreement. The defendant argued that not all material terms had been agreed on by the parties, but the court rejected that argument.

As an initial matter, the court agreed with the defendant that before enforcing a settlement agreement, a court must conclude that the parties have agreed on all material terms. The court found, however, that all material terms had indeed been agreed upon.

The defendant’s change in financial circumstances, which caused the defendant to seek modification to the settlement agreement’s payment schedule, was not a sufficient basis for the court to find that an agreement had not bee reached in the first instance. The court noted that an employer’s economic hardship is not a valid ground for opposing the entry of an order relating to FLSA violations.