Between 2008 and 2010, plaintiffs Miguel Vaca, a man in his 40s; Margarito Cortez Flores, a woman in her 50s; and Ernesto Luna Noya, a man in his 40s, were employed as roofers by James Morris and his two companies, J.R.M. Contracting Services and Heritage Contracting Services. They were all terminated after suffering work-related at different points in 2010. They claimed that they were not paid properly during the time of their employment with Morris. Vaca, Flores and Noya sued Morris, J.R.M., and Heritage. They alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and wrongfully terminated them based on disability discrimination. Heritage filed for bankruptcy, and its debts were subsequently discharged after a small distribution to its creditors, including the plaintiffs. Thereafter, the plaintiffs proceeded to a bench trial against Morris and J.R.M. only. Vaca, Flores and Noya claimed that, as roofers on public works projects, they were all paid below the prevailing wages during the time they were employed by the defendants. They claimed that after a period of disability for sustained on separate occasions in 2010, they were each denied return to their previous employment, even though their respective doctors had prescribed them healthy enough to return to work. Morris and J.R.M. answered the complaint, but failed to appear for trial and did not provide a defense at any phase of the case., Vaca, Flores and Noya claimed that they should have been paid $29 an hour under the prevailing wage Labor Code statute, but that, instead, they were only paid $11 to $13 an hour during the time they were employed by the defendants. Thus, they sought compensation for their unpaid wages, as well as sought recovery of non-economic damages for their emotional distress as a result of not being able to return to work.