Dole v. Circle" A" Const., Inc., Civ. No. 86-1437.
| Decision Date | 01 June 1990 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 86-1437. |
| Citation | 738 F. Supp. 1313 |
| Parties | Elizabeth DOLE, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, Plaintiff, v. CIRCLE "A" CONSTRUCTION, INC., a corporation; and Marvin Aslett, an individual, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Idaho |
Daniel W. Teehan, Regional Sol., Matthew L. Vadnal, Office of the Sol., U.S. Dept. of Labor, Seattle, for plaintiff.
Carl Burke, Jeffery J. Ventrella, Elam, Burke and Boyd, Boise, Idaho, M. Gary Atkinson, Twin Falls, Idaho, for defendants.
ORDER PARTIALLY GRANTING MOTIONS FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT
The above-entitled action arises under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. Plaintiff, the Secretary of Labor for the United States Department of Labor (hereinafter the "Secretary"), commenced this action on December 9, 1986, to enjoin the defendants from violating the overtime and record-keeping provisions of the FLSA and to obtain back wages for Circle A's employees. In addition to requesting unpaid overtime compensation owing to defendants' employees, plaintiff also seeks an equal amount in liquidated damages.
This court's jurisdiction is based on 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) of the FLSA. Plaintiff names as defendants, Circle "A" Construction, having its principal place of business in Twin Falls, Idaho, and Marvin Aslett, President of Circle "A" Construction. (Hereinafter, defendants will be collectively referred to as "Circle A.") Apparently, Circle A engages in the business of hauling sugar beets from Amalgamated Sugar Company's receiving stations (beet dumps) to its sugar factories in Twin Falls and Paul, Idaho. Plaintiff contends that between December 9, 1983, and April 23, 1986, the defendant's employees engaged in work weeks of longer than 40 hours and did not receive overtime, to which they were entitled in the amount of one and one-half their regular rates of pay.1 Because Circle A allegedly violated the monetary and reporting provisions of the FLSA, plaintiff prays for a judgment: (1) permanently enjoining Circle A from further conduct in violation of the FLSA; (2) awarding any unpaid overtime compensation due Circle A's employees named in Exhibit A of the Complaint (i.e., as Amended, February 8, 1989, to add additional names of employees); and (3) awarding an equal amount of liquidated damages and costs.
Currently before the court are cross-motions for partial summary judgment in which the parties principally seek a determination regarding which Circle A employees, if any, are exempt from the overtime compensation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1). This exemption is known colloquially as the "Motor Carrier Act exemption."2 A hearing on such cross-motions was conducted before this court on January 26, 1990.
Having thoroughly considered the briefing, oral arguments, and supplemental briefing of the parties on this matter, this court is now ready to render its decision. Accordingly, based on the following standards and analysis, this court finds that, as a matter of law, Circle A's motion should be granted in part, and denied in part; and that the Secretary's motion should be granted in part and denied in part.
Circle A filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment based on the Motor Carrier Act Exemption to the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1). Specifically, Circle A contends that, as a matter of law, "the Fair Labor Standards Act expressly defers to the United States Department of Transportation's regulatory power...." Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, filed Feb. 27, 1989, at 2. Accordingly, Circle A maintains that it is entitled to a judgment which provides that, "29 U.S.C. Section 213(b)(1) exempts Circle A from having to comply with the FLSA and that plaintiff recover nothing on behalf of those Circle A employees falling within that exemption." Id.3
In light of Circle A's motion, the Secretary filed a cross-motion to have this court find, as a matter of law, that only those Circle A employees who were found subject to the Department of Transportation's jurisdiction during safety compliance reviews conducted in 1981 and 1987, fall under the motor carrier exemption, 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1).
Oddly enough, to a certain extent, Circle A's motion and the Secretary's motion are actually consistent with one another. Both parties seek a ruling by this court that those Circle A employees subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (hereinafter the "DOT") are exempt under the Motor Carrier Act from the overtime provisions of the FLSA. Thus, in effect, both parties request this court to state the obvious. Clearly, as will be discussed in the analysis portion of this order, under Section 213(b)(1), any employees subject to the jurisdiction of DOT are not concurrently subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor. See infra Morris v. McComb, 332 U.S. 422, 68 S.Ct. 131, 92 L.Ed. 44 (1947). However, both parties go much further than asking this court to state the obvious.
On one hand, the Secretary suggests that audits conducted by DOT in 1981 and 1987 should be determinative of the number of employees subject to DOT's jurisdiction, and that only those employees named at the time of those audits are exempted from the overtime provisions of the FLSA. This position goes too far because no audits were conducted between December 1983 and April 1986 which represent the relevant time periods at issue.
On the other hand, Circle A asks this court to go to the other extreme and find that because DOT conducted audits in 1981 and 1987, the DOT automatically had jurisdiction (whether exercised or not) over all drivers and mechanics—and, therefore, all Circle A drivers and mechanics are automatically foreclosed from the benefits of the FLSA.
Motions for summary judgment are governed by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 56 provides, in pertinent part, that judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." U.S.C.S. Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 56(c) (Law.Co-op.1987).
The Supreme Court has made it clear that under Rule 56 summary judgment is mandated if the non-moving party fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element which is essential to his case and upon which he will bear the burden of proof at trial. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In addressing the application of "The Summary Judgment Test," the Ninth Circuit has specifically explained the following:
A "material" fact is one that is relevant to an element of a claim or defense and whose existence might affect the outcome of the suit. The materiality of a fact is thus determined by the substantive law governing the claim or defense. Disputes over irrelevant or unnecessary facts will not preclude a grant of summary judgment.
T.W. Elec. Serv. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Ass'n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.1987) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)) (emphasis added). Cognizant of this standard and in view of the undisputed facts and applicable law, the court finds that both motions for partial summary judgment should be partially granted.
The Department of Labor brought this action primarily to recover overtime compensation under the FLSA for those employees of Circle A who engaged in the "beet hauls" which took place between December 9, 1983, and April 23, 1986. The beet hauls facilitated by Circle A employees are seasonal in nature and the majority of drivers employed to perform the hauls do not work for Circle A on a year-round basis. However, Circle A does employ a few drivers on a year-round basis.
Although DOT regulated Circle A's interstate hauling activities, nothing in the record suggests that DOT ever attempted to regulate Circle A's beet haul operation. Circle A's beet haul operations were purely intrastate. Accordingly, alone, the beet haul activity does not fall under the motor carrier exemption. At all time periods relevant to this action, Circle A was a "motor private carrier" as defined by 49 U.S.C. § 10102(16). Circle A engaged in interstate hauling during the time periods at issue and was thereby subject to regulations by the Department of Transportation. Indeed, at least with respect to some Circle A employees, at all times relevant to this action, DOT required Circle A to comply with regulations contained in 49 C.F.R. pt. 200, et seq.
In October 1981 and again in December 1987, the Federal Highway Administration of DOT conducted safety compliance audits of Circle A's operations. Upon completion of such audits, the Highway Administration concluded that: (1) as of October 1981, two of Circle A's drivers were subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (and, therefore, under DOT jurisdiction); and (2) as of December 1987, four of Circle A's drivers were subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (and, therefore, under DOT jurisdiction).4
In 1938, Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to protect workers from substandard wages. Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight Sys., Inc., 450 U.S. 728, 739, 101 S.Ct. 1437, 1444, 67 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981). In Title 29 of the United States Code, Section 207(a)(1) sets forth the right of employees...
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