Davila v. Menendez

• Decision Date: 10 June 2013
• Docket Number: No. 12–11049.,12–11049.
• Citation: 717 F.3d 1179
• Parties: Maria Teresa DAVILA, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Maria Claudia MENENDEZ, Rudolfo Menendez, Defendants–Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

717 F.3d 1179

Maria Teresa DAVILA, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.Maria Claudia MENENDEZ, Rudolfo Menendez, Defendants–Appellees.

No. 12–11049.

United States Court of Appeals,Eleventh Circuit.

June 10, 2013.

Jamie H. Zidell, Daniel T. Feld, David L. Markel, The Law Office of Eddy O. Marban, Coral Gables, FL, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Peter Mineo, The Mineo Diener Law Firm, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Defendants–Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Before TJOFLAT and PRYOR, Circuit Judges, and ROTHSTEIN,^* District Judge.

PRYOR, Circuit Judge:

This appeal presents two issues: first, whether a jury should have decided if an employer willfully violated federal and state minimum wage laws after a former employee introduced evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the former employee, that the employer was aware of and disregarded those laws, sometimes paid the former employee in cash, failed to record her hours of work, and made comments about her status as an alien; and second, whether the district court may deny an employee's request for liquidated damages before a jury decides whether her employer willfully violated federal and state minimum wage laws. Maria Teresa Davila appeals a judgment that Maria Claudia and Rudolfo Menendez did not willfully violate federal minimum wage laws, 29 U.S.C. § 206(a), and the minimum wage laws of Florida, Fla. Const. Art. 10, § 24(e), and that Davila was not entitled to liquidated damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 216. Davila argues that the Menendezes failed to pay her the minimum wage under federal and state law while she served as the nanny for their child from 2004 until 2010. At trial, the jury found that the Menendezes violated the minimum wage laws and owed Davila unpaid wages, but the district court granted a judgment as a matter of law in favor of the Menendezes and against Davila's claim that they willfully violated the minimum wage laws. If the jury had found that the Menendezes willfully violated the minimum wage laws, the time for which Davila could have recovered unpaid wages would have been extended from four years to five years. SeeFla. Const. Art. 10, § 24(e). Davila also argues that the district court erred when it denied her motion for liquidated damages. Because Davila introduced sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that the Menendezes willfully violated the minimum wage laws and because the district court cannot rule on Davila's motion for liquidated damages before the jury decides whether the Menendezes willfully violated the minimum wage laws, we vacate and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

In 2004, the Menendezes hired Davila as a nanny for their five-month-old son. The Menendezes expected Davila to dress the child each morning, cook his breakfast, and prepare him to leave the family's one-bedroom apartment and each evening to cook the child's dinner and put him to bed. While the Menendezes lived in the small apartment, Davila arrived for work early every weekday morning, left in the evenings after she put the child to bed, and babysat occasionally on Friday and Saturday evenings. When the Menendezes later moved into a two-bedroom apartment, Davila lived with the Menendezes from Sunday evening through Friday afternoon. When she first started to work for the Menendezes, Davila requested a salary of $350 a week, and the Menendezes agreed to pay that rate. Approximately two-and-a-half years later, the Menendezes increased Davila's salary to $400 a week.

In February 2008, Davila visited her daughter in Canada. Davila remained in Canada for eight months and obtained status as a legal resident to enroll for Medicare in Canada. In October 2008, Davila returned to the Menendez home. In March 2010, the Menendezes fired Davila.

In April 2010, Davila filed a complaint against the Menendezes for violating the federal minimum wage laws. Davila alleged that she had “worked an average of 100 hours a week between ... July 28, 2004 through ... February 14, 2008,” and been “paid $3.50 per hour for all hours of work.” Davila also alleged that she had “worked an average of 75 hours a week between ... October 10, 2008 through ... March 26, 2010,” and been “paid $4.00 per hour for all hours of work.” And Davila alleged that the Menendezes had “willfully and intentionally refused to pay ... or post[ ] any notice ... of her rights to minimum wages.” In an amended complaint, Davila also alleged that the Menendezes had violated the minimum wage provision of the Florida Constitution. Davila sought “double damages and reasonable attorney fees” or “as much as allowed” under federal law and the Florida Constitution, “whichever is greater.”

At trial, the Menendezes and Davila disagreed about the number of hours that she had worked and her duties in the Menendez home. The Menendezes testified that Davila had worked an average of 38 hours each week, but Davila testified that she had worked 100 hours each week before she left for Canada and 70 hours each week between the time that she returned to the United States and her termination. The Menendezes testified that Davila had arrived voluntarily on Sunday evenings because she did not have a permanent residence for weekdays and began her work early on Monday morning, but Davila testified that the Menendezes had required that she arrive on Sunday evening. The Menendezes stated that Davila had no duties after the child left for school or after she put the child to bed, but Davila testified that she had worked all but four hours at night when the child slept. Davila testified that, during the day, she had cleaned the Menendezes' apartment, prepared meals, and run errands for Claudia Menendez and, at night, she had slept in the child's bedroom. Claudia testified that maids, not Davila, had been responsible for cleaning the apartment. Claudia also testified that she had vacationed with her son at least twice a year in Colombia and that their absence had temporarily relieved Davila from her duties.

The Menendezes testified that Davila had been paid according to the minimum wage laws, and that Davila had never complained about her compensation. The Menendezes further testified that they had hired Davila at the rate of $350 a week, paid her when the child had been on vacation with Claudia, gave Davila money for living expenses and to pay taxes, paid medical expenses incurred by Davila's relative in Colombia, paid Davila's credit card bills while she was in Canada, and paid for her airplane ticket to return to the United States. Rudolfo Menendez testified that he “[had] an idea of what minimum wage was,” that the rate “might have been about $6 an hour,” and that he “always thought that [the family had] pa[id] [Davila] way above minimum wage.” Rudolfo testified that he had required Davila to file tax returns, but he had not “inquire[d] whether [his] payments to Ms. Davila were in sync with the minimum wage laws,” and “didn't know [that he was] supposed” to file W–2 forms for Davila. Rudolfo also testified that he had recommended his certified public accountant to Davila and that the accountant “would [not] risk his license to do anything unethical.”

Davila testified that she would have continued to work for the Menendezes had they not fired her, although she thought they were dishonest. Davila testified that, during her first meeting with the Menendezes, Rudolfo questioned why an “illegal” would charge $350 a week, mentioned several times that he was “with the government,” and told Davila that she “should not be charging that much.” Davila also testified that she “never received again $400 [a week]” after she returned from Canada. Davila stated that the Menendezes cheated on their taxes and used their accountant to report falsely Davila's income. Davila also testified that, during a trip Davila took to a hospital for a job-related accident, Claudia told Davila not to mention that she was an employee of the Menendezes because they had not provided health insurance for her.

In their cross-examination of Davila, the Menendezes introduced documents that Davila provided to the hospital to obtain free medical care: a copy of her 2008 tax return, which understated her income; a power bill that listed the Menendezes' address; and a letter from Claudia stating that she was “in charge of all the living expenses for ... Davila.” The Menendezes also introduced canceled checks to establish that, after Davila returned from Canada, she was paid $520, $350, and $400 on three separate weeks in December 2009, and $1,000 for one week in February 2010. Davila acknowledged that the Menendezes had helped her pay for her plane ticket from Canada, but Davila testified that most of the large checks had been advances on her weekly salary. And Davila further acknowledged that she had used Claudia's debit card to pay for household expenses and to withdraw cash to pay her weekly salary. The Menendezes also submitted copies of tax returns that Davila had filed for tax years 2009 and 2010 in which she had substantially understated her income.

At the close of all the evidence, the Menendezes “move[d] for a directed verdict on the issue of intentional reckless or willful behavior on the part of the defendants,” and the district court granted the motion. The district court ruled that the “testimony ... that [the Menendezes] were aware of the requirements of paying a minimum wage, ... in and of itself, under the circumstances in this case, ... [does not] give rise to a jury question ... of whether they intentionally violated the minimum wage requirement or showed reckless disregard.” The district court concluded that the Menendezes' “failure to go and investigate further is [not] a requirement [nor does it] give[ ] rise, in and of itself, to creating a jury question here” about willfulness.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of Davila and found that the...