O'Connor v. U.S.
| Decision Date | 17 October 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-5016.,02-5016. |
| Citation | 308 F.3d 1233 |
| Parties | Donald O'CONNOR, et al., Plaintiffs, and Benjamin M. Aban, Donald N. Adaniya, Rolando R. Alvarado, Joseph A. Alvitre, Larry Andrews, Jeannett Armstrong, Robert G. Ashmore, Lee E. Austin, David K. Bahl, Lawrence R. Barron, Kenneth R. Battle, Jeanette Binion, Royce Binion, Eleanor M. Bishop, Gaetane M. Boutin, Thomas R. Boyden, Deena J. Bradshaw, Shadrach Breaux, Stephen G. Broich, Michael C. Brown, Yulanda S. Brown, David S. Buchanan, Maria L. Buenrostro, Gail Burnett, William D. Byrd, Richard F. Camacho, Elaine L. Carr, Larry Carr, Ruby L. Carter, Daniel Castellano, Raymond Cervantes, Alyce Chacon, Joyce M. Chalenor, William Q. Chavira, Mary R. Clarett, Jacqueline V. Clayter, Janice L. Cobb, Paula Sue Conklin, Sandra G. Contreras, Lori A. Cook, Patricia A. Cormier, Osvaldo R. Cosme, John D. Cota, Jr., Scott A. Craddolph, Ronnie F. Crews, Joselito S. Cristobal, Sherron S. Cryer, Marjorie E. Cunningham, Elmito A. Danggoec, Gibson Nancy Darley, Valynda D. Davis, Claudia L. Dawkins, Mark W. Day, David Martin De LosReyes, Firmo C. De Mesa, Carolyn De Ruso, Mary E. Dean, Daniel J. Devoy, Rita P. Dietrich, John A. Dimercurio, Marianito G. Domingo, Viola E. Eaton, John T. Elliott, June E. Erwin, Sharon Espinoza, Joan E. Farber, Richard G. Ferguson, Craig E. Finch, Olivia Flores, Anna J. Fontana, Carl R. Fontana, David Russell Ford, Kevin Foreman, Salvador Franco, Donald R. Freeman, Richard C. Fromm, Charles E. Fuller, Donato F. Garcia, Lydia Garcia-Espinoza, Jerry A. Gasbarra, Andrea S. Gilbert, Frank C. Giovenco, Gabriel Giraco, Carmen Y. Glass Lang, Alan J. Glassman, Ralph J. Gomez, Gay Gorski, Russell L. Gosselin, Leland A. Gotwals, Regina Goudeau, Timothy N. Graham, Melody A. Grant, Kathryn I. Gregor, Gordon C. Gregory, Victor A. Guerra, Eduardo Guirado, Mary L. Gunn, Victor Guzman, Douglas A. Hackett, Clara N. Hansen, Joan C. Harkins, Sharon Chaney Harris, Ingrid A. Harrison Meyerhofer, Luella L. Hartman, Edmore Hatcher, Dennis W. Hattan, Clifford L. Hawk, Barbara A. Hayes, Alice L. Heftye, Robert L. Henson, Sr., George Hernandez, Eric D. Hibbler, Talbert L. Hignight, Dwight E. Hill, Vivian Hill, Karen L. Hillblom, Ernest L. Hines, Barbara A. Holland, Antonius A. Holst, Mark J. Hopkins, Richard J. Huerta, Edward E. Huizar, Michael F. Humphrey, Eileen Hutchings, Pamela M. Iseri, Carole A. Jackson, Pamela A. Jarrett, Ronald D. Jensen, Odalie K. Johannessen, Judith A. John, Fred C. Johnson, David L. Johnson, Brian L. Jones, Altheria v. Jones, Ethelyn J. Jones, Charles L. King, John L. King, Edward S. Kirol, Stacey A. Koide, Jean K. Konnoff, Geza C. Koszty, Michael J. Kunza, Kenneth R. Kyle, Philip L. Lamontagne, Timothy D. Lane, Larry A. Latine, Phillip E. Lawson, Deirdre Anne Leary, James F. Lindekugel, Nelson Lugo, Teofilo M. Lugo, Laisene Malauulu, Gregory D. Marinas, Patrice A. Markham, Val S. Marquez, Richard D. McCaffery, Lance E. McNeil, Johnny McQueen, Jr., Anthony C. Metoyer, Jr., Troy J. Montgomery, Jong-Boon Moon, Don A. Morales, Donald F. Morgan, Barbara R. Murtagh, Albert W. Myers, Joyce C. Naeyaert, Mark D. Neumeister, Robert D. Nickens, Roque Nieto, Michael C. Nimtz, Sandra Lee Nunally, Yolanda Ontiveros-Duncan, Ronald L. Orr, Michael A. Paez, Kenneth F. Paffrath, Evelyn P. Palencia, Hugo A. Palomo, Roy H. Parker, III, Gary A. Patterson, Henry P. Perez, Robert A. Perez, Arthur R. Pimentel, Stanley H. Polinsky, Thomas H. Potter, Valerie B. Prather, John L. Quaderer, Lance D. Queen, Sandra A. Quintard, Timothy John Ramirez, Veda R. Ramsey, Linda Rau, Natividad Reyes, Jr., Frances A. Riedel, Edgar B. Roa, Angela K. Robbins, Roxie A. Roddy, Sharon L. Rodriguez, Joseph V. Rodriguez, Robert G. Rollings, Frank Romero, Richard M. Rosenthal, John G. Rossi, Ann Rubin, Vito Ruggiero, Ronald S. Sadora, Carlos E. Salazar, Priscilla B. Samson, Debra D. Sanchez, Robert Sanchez, Mark A. Sands, Jessie G. Santos, Ymelda Sasseen, William P. Shea, James E. Sheldon, Raymond J. Shipley, James N. Shows, Frank R. Silkwood, Deborah L. Sitlington, William H. Slaton, Charlotte C. Sluder, Gladys L. Snowden, Thomas I. Sorrels, Dennis E. Spain, Vivienne Steele, William H. Stephens, John W. Strandberg, Barry R. Stratton, Cathy D. Stratton, Belinda A. Sturz, Mick Suarez, Cindy J. Sulistio, Arturo L. Tabios, Jaime E. Tagle, George V. Taylor, John S. Telles, Dominic A. Thomas, Mia P. Thompson, Betty A. Todd, Rebecca M. Upton, Maria Suzette Vaccaro, James T. Vanhorn, Dana P. Vanorman, Joan C. Vincent, Warren E. Voss, Lula M. Wall, Vincent K. Warren, Bobby Lee Washington, Stephanie Renee Washington, James A. Wathen, II, Irma Weaver, Francis E. Whalen, Jr., Elvira A. White, Mary A. Wicker, Walter Gene Wilkerson, Merle A. Wilkison, Brenda G. Williams, Ervin Williams, Jr., Greg F. Wolfslau, Robert C. Woolfork, Rodney A. Wright, and Stanley E. Zubas, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit |
Steven R. Hickman, Frasier, Frasier & Hickman, of Tulsa Oklahoma, argued for plaintiffs-appellants.
Kevin W. McArdle, Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice, of Washington, DC, argued for defendant-appellee. With him on the brief were Robert D. McCallum, Jr., Assistant Attorney General; David M. Cohen, Director; and Todd M. Hughes, Assistant Director.
Before LOURIE, SCHALL, and PROST, Circuit Judges.
Donald O'Connor, et al., (collectively "appellants") appeal from the decision of the United States Court of Federal Claims dismissing their complaint for lack of jurisdiction. O'Connor v. United States, 50 Fed.Cl. 285 (2001). Because the court erred in concluding that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, we reverse the court's dismissal. Because the court correctly granted, in the alternative, partial summary judgment in favor of the government on the ground of accord and satisfaction, we affirm that portion of its decision and remand for further proceedings.
The relevant facts are not in dispute. Appellants are employees of the Defense Contract Management District of the West ("DCMDW" or "the agency"),1 id. at 286, who seek compensation, liquidated damages, interest, attorney fees, and costs for overtime allegedly worked in violation of § 207 of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (1994). Appellants are represented exclusively by the American Federation of Government Employees ("AFGE" or "the union"), local bargaining unit 2433 ("local 2433"), and certain terms of their employment are therefore governed by a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") executed between the agency and the DCMDW Council of AFGE Locals, including local 2433. Id. at 287. Under § 7121(a)(1) of the Civil Service Reform Act ("CSRA"), 5 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq. (2000), all such CBAs are required to include procedures "for the settlement of grievances." Id. § 7121(a)(1). With certain exceptions that do not apply here, the CSRA provides that these negotiated grievance procedures are to "be the exclusive administrative procedures for resolving grievances which fall within its coverage." Id. (emphasis added). The statute further states that "any grievance not satisfactorily settled under the negotiated grievance procedure shall be subject to binding arbitration." Id. § 7121(b)(1)(C)(iii). The CSRA explicitly defines "grievance" to include complaints "by any employee, labor organization, or agency concerning ... any claimed violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of any law ... affecting conditions of employment." Id. § 7103(a)(9)(C)(ii). Although § 7121(c) of the statute excludes certain matters from the application of the grievance procedures, overtime claims under the FLSA are not among them. See id. § 7121(c).
As required by the CSRA, the CBA at issue here contains grievance procedures for the "prompt and equitable settlement of grievances between the parties" to the agreement. Consistent with the CSRA, the CBA defines "grievance" broadly to include complaints based upon "the interpretation or application of any law ... with respect to ... matters affecting conditions of employment." The CBA further provides that unless a matter is explicitly excluded from the application of the negotiated grievance procedures, these procedures are to be "the exclusive procedure available to bargaining unit employee(s) for the resolution of grievances." (emphasis added). Although the CSRA specifically permits a CBA to exclude any matter from the application of the grievance procedures that the negotiating parties see fit, see id. § 7121(a)(2), appellants' CBA does not list FLSA overtime claims in Article 36, Section 4, "Matters Excluded." Finally, appellants' CBA states that if the local bargaining unit representative is not satisfied with the results of the grievance procedures, it may request that the matter be taken to arbitration. As required by the CSRA, the arbitrator's decision is to be binding upon the parties.
From 1997 through early 1999, eleven AFGE locals, including local 2433, filed substantively identical grievances against the agency alleging that it had violated the FLSA by failing to pay overtime to all bargaining unit members occupying positions at the GS-9 grade level and above. See O'Connor, 50 Fed.Cl. at 287. Section 207(a)(1) of the FLSA states, in pertinent part:
Except as otherwise provided in this section, no employer shall employ any of his employees ... for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.
29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1) (2000). The FLSA further provides that an individual whose employer violates § 207 is entitled to the unpaid overtime wages, an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, attorney fees, and costs. Id. § 216(b). An employee may...
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