Rosano v. Twp. of Teaneck
| Decision Date | 10 June 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 13–1263.,13–1263. |
| Parties | Gerard ROSANO; John Abraham, and all persons similarly situated; Rolando Acosta; Michael Adomilli; Mark Adomilli; Douglas Alcott; Tanya Balser; Anthony Biondi; Ronald Boswell; Kevin Brennan; Anthony Brezi; William Brittingham; Sara Brittingham; Ross Burns; Christopher Buscavage; Raymond Byrne; Joseph Careccio; Robert Carney; Thomas Caruso; Michael Chaloub; Harold Clark; Glenn Coley; Kenneth Croonquist; Robert Croonquist; William Croonquist; Michael Crowley; Daniel Dalessio; Michael Danenza; James Deanni; Armand Divite; Kenneth Egbert; John Faggello; Michael Falvey; Michael Ferrante; Paul Finkler; Thomas Finley; Mark Fisco; Patrick Forrest; Daniel Garcia; John Garcia; Robert Gloria; Jose Gonzalez; Walter Haase; Edward Hahn; Harry Harrison; Robert Harvey; Jason Hosey; John Hyland; Kimberly Johnson; Dean Kazinci; Edward Kazmierczak; Gregory Kerrison; Dennis Kleiber; Seth Kriegel; Christopher Kurschner; Eddy Lievano; Ralph Locke; Zoraida Lopez; Craig Luebeck; Kevin Marrero; Andrew McGurr; Lamon Meeks; Robert Mehnert; Thomas Melvin; George Miros; Michael Moliere; George Molina; Randy Morales; Charles Mulligan; John Nogueras; James O'Brien; Glenn O'Reilly; Spence Osaigbovo; Angel Pagan; Arno Peters; Stephen Ramirez; Keith Richter; Michael Richter; Justin Rodriguez; Gregory Rucker; Rodney Ryland; Saul Santiago; Gabriel Santiago; Thomas Sullivan; Michael Sunga; Scott Tesser; James Thompson; Veronica Thornton; Thomas Tully; Percy West; Jeanette Williams; George Wright, Appellants. v. TOWNSHIP OF TEANECK, a political subdivision of the State of New Jersey. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Marcia J. Tapia, Esq., Argued, Loccke, Correia, Schlager, Limsky & Bukosky, Hackensack, NJ, Counsel for Appellants.
Peter F. Berk, Esq., Angelo J. Genova, Esq., Argued, Genova Burns Giantomasi & Webster, Newark, NJ, Counsel for Appellee.
Before: McKEE, Chief Judge, FISHER and SLOVITER, Circuit Judges.
This case arises from an action brought by eighty-eight current and former police officers (“Appellants”) employed by the Township of Teaneck (“Teaneck”) in Teaneck, New Jersey. Appellants contended that Teaneck violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., by failing to: (1) pay proper overtime; (2) provide compensation for time spent attending daily roll calls (“muster time”); and (3) provide compensation for time spent putting on (“donning”) and taking off (“doffing”) uniforms and equipment each day. The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of Teaneck on all of Appellants' claims. For the reasons set forth below, we will affirm.
I. BACKGROUNDA. Factual Background
The Teaneck Policemen's Benevolent Association, Local 215, which represents Teaneck police officers, and the Superior Officer's Association, which represents Teaneck sergeants, lieutenants, and captains, have negotiated jointly with Teaneck since 1979. The present dispute has its origins in a collective bargaining agreement (the “Agreement”) that was in effect for an original term of January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2007, and which remained in effect through June 2011 due to an impasse in negotiations.
The Agreement provides that police officers work established and regularly recurring work periods of either seven or nine days. These periods combine so that police officers are required to work an average of 39.25 hours per week over the course of a calendar year. Officers work under either a “Six and Three” or a “Five and Two” plan. Those working under the “Six and Three” plan work six eight-hour tours over six consecutive days and then have three consecutive days off. Those under the “Five and Two” plan work five eight-hour tours over five consecutive days and then have two consecutive days off.
If an officer performs work in excess of his or her normal hours in any tour of duty, that work is considered overtime which is compensated at a rate of time and one-half. The Agreement provides for the accrual of overtime pay in blocks based on the amount of time worked after a regular tour. For example, if an officer works less than 31 minutes past his scheduled tour, he receives no overtime; if the officer works between 31 minutes and 44 minutes past his scheduled tour, he receives 30 minutes of overtime; if he works between 45 and 52 minutes past his scheduled tour, he receives 45 minutes of overtime; and if he works between 53 and 59 minutes past his scheduled tour, he receives one hour of overtime. Any overtime beyond one hour accrues in blocks of 15 minutes.
The Agreement also provides for inspection and roll call, or “muster time,” which takes place ten minutes prior to the start of officers' tours and ten minutes at the end of their tours. Officers are required to report for muster time dressed and prepared for duty. The effect of muster time is that for each eight-hour tour, officers may work for eight hours and twenty minutes. On any given day, officers may work less than the eight hours and twenty minutes depending on the length of the post-tour muster period. In those instances, officers are still given credit for the full eight hours and twenty minutes.
The Agreement also sets forth specific uniform and equipment requirements to which Teaneck police officers must adhere while on duty. The uniform components of individual police officers depend on whether the officer is assigned to the “Uniform Division” or the “Non–Uniform Division.”
Regardless of assignment, there is no rule, regulation, or other policy requiring that police officers don or doff their uniform at Teaneck Police Headquarters. However, some officers choose to don and doff partially at home and partially at work, and some choose to don and doff completely at Teaneck's headquarters, either in the locker rooms or their personal offices. The option to change at work is primarily for the benefit of police officers who have indicated concerns regarding:
(1) the risk of loss or theft of uniforms and gear at home; (2) potential access to the gear by family members; (3) distractions at home that might interfere with the donning process; (4) safety concerns with performing firearm checks at home; (5) discomfort associated with wearing the gear while commuting; (6) the increased risk of being identified as a police officer while off-duty; and (7) potential exposure of family members to contaminants and bodily fluids.
The Agreement, as well as all prior collective bargaining agreements between the parties, is silent as to whether Teaneck officers are entitled to compensation for time spent donning and doffing. Additionally, the officers' unions have never requested, through contract negotiations or other means, compensation for time spent donning and doffing.
B. Procedural Background
On December 16, 2009, Local 215 filed a complaint against the Township of Teaneck under the FLSA to recover unpaid compensation for: (1) overtime; (2) time spent during muster time; and (3) time spent donning and doffing uniforms and equipment each day. On June 9, 2010, an amended complaint was filed which removed Local 215 as a party to the suit and left only the officers, in their individual capacities, as plaintiffs.
Teaneck subsequently filed a motion to dismiss, but the motion was terminated when the District Court stayed the case and directed the parties to mediation. Following an unsuccessful mediation, the District Court held a pre-trial conference, at which Teaneck moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c)(1) to bar the officers from using any damages calculations that were not disclosed during discovery. To that point, the only calculation of damages the officers had disclosed during the discovery process was a spreadsheet prepared by one of the officers' wives, which calculated individual officers' overtime hours based upon an eight-hour day.
The spreadsheet identified the dates each officer worked and those in which the officer was in uniform and not in uniform. It assumed that each officer worked eight hours, plus 20 minutes in muster time, plus 30 minutes daily donning and doffing for uniformed officers and 15 minutes daily donning and doffing for non-uniformed officers. Thus, according to the officers, they were entitled to overtime compensationfor every day they worked 8 hours, regardless of how many hours they worked in a workweek or a work period. The officers conceded that they did not produce anything in discovery that would provide a computation of damages under a 40–hour theory, but defended that course of action based upon their perception that the Agreement required overtime payment based upon an eight-hour day and not a 40–hour work week. After hearing argument, the District Court concluded that there was “no reason why there should be any permission to go beyond that which was disclosed in discovery” and granted Teaneck's motion.
Thereafter, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The District Court granted Teaneck's motion and denied the officers' motion on December 28, 2012. In regards to the officers' overtime claim, the Court concluded that Teaneck qualified for an exemption to the general overtime provisions of 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)1, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 207(k)2, and could, therefore, raise the overtime threshold for its employees. The Court also noted that the officers had failed to produce sufficient evidence of missed overtime pay. Regarding muster time, the Court concluded that the Agreement contemplated such time as part of the “normal hours in any tour of duty” and was already a component of the officers' salaries. Finally, because the officers had the option of donning and doffing their uniforms and gear at home, and the option to change at work benefitted the officers and not Teaneck, the District Court regarded such activities as...
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