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The Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Courthouse, home of the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Virginia. (Acroterion via Wikipedia)
RICHMOND, Va. (CN) A Fourth Circuit panel heard arguments Wednesday over whether a North Carolina-based charity can pay disabled workers participating in a government rehabilitation program less than minimum wage.
Gregory Armento, a homeless veteran, filed a lawsuit in the Western District of North Carolina in 2017 against Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministries (ABCCM), claiming that a homeless shelter run by the organization violated federal labor laws by forcing him to perform unpaid labor in exchange for room and board.
The non-profit organization, which is in charge of a program for homeless veterans at the Veterans Restoration Quarters (VRQ) in Asheville, provided housing for Armento from 2015-2017 through funds administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.