NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The New Orleans Saints have been ordered by an NFL arbitrator to pay more than $384,000 to a fired personal assistant to late team owner Tom Benson.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the Saints were ordered to pay Rodney Henry $100,000 plus interest for unpaid overtime and $94,300 plus for the violation of a clause in his employment contract stating he was entitled to a termination fee if anyone other than Benson himself fired Henry.
Arbitrator Harold Henderson also ordered the Saints to pay Henry’s attorneys’ fees of $190,000.
The Advocate newspaper first reported the ruling.
Henry’s initial lawsuit in November 2015 accused the Saints not only of failing to pay overtime, but also of firing him for complaining that Benson’s wife, Gayle, made racially insensitive comments about him. Henry, who is black, has not been awarded any damages for claims of racism.
Read more on the New Orleans Advocate’s website.