Ruiz v. Fernandez

• Citation: 949 F.Supp.2d 1055
• Decision Date: 07 June 2013
• Docket Number: No. CV–11–3088–RMP.,CV–11–3088–RMP.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Washington
• Parties: Elvis RUIZ, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Max FERNANDEZ, et al., Defendants.

949 F.Supp.2d 1055

Elvis RUIZ, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.Max FERNANDEZ, et al., Defendants.

No. CV–11–3088–RMP.

United States District Court,

E.D. Washington.

June 7, 2013.

Michele Besso, Northwest Justice Project, Yakima, WA, Weeun Wang, Farmworker Justice, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Gary Edward Lofland, John Jay Carroll, Halverson Northwest Law Group PC, Yakima, WA, Timothy J. Bernasek, John R. Barhoum, Dunn Carney Allen Higgins & Tongue LLP, Portland, OR, for Defendants.

ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ROSANNA MALOUF PETERSON, Chief Judge.

BEFORE THE COURT are motions for summary judgment filed by Defendant Western Range Association (“Western Range”), ECF No. 130, Defendants Max and Ann Fernandez (“Fernandez”), ECF No. 135, and Plaintiffs Francisco Javier Castro, Eduardo Martinez, and Elvis Ruiz (“Plaintiffs”), ECF No. 140. The Court heard oral argument on the motions. Michele Besso appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs. Timothy J. Bernasek appeared for Defendant Western Range, and Gary E. Lofland appeared on behalf of Defendants Fernandez. The Court has considered the briefing and the file and is fully informed.

BACKGROUND

The “H–2A program,” as provided for in the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), allows for the issuance of visas to foreign workers who “ha[ve] a residence in a foreign country which [they] ha[ve] no intention of abandoning [and] who [are] coming [ ] to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services ... of a temporary or seasonal nature.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H). H–2A visas may be granted only when there are “not sufficient workers who are able, willing, and qualified ... to perform the labor or services involved” and “the employment of the [foreign worker] ... will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed.” 8 U.S.C. § 1188(a)(1).

Plaintiffs in this case are three Chilean sheepherders who came to the United States under the H–2A program and worked on Defendant Max Fernandez's ranch. Plaintiffs were recruited for this work by Defendant Western Range Association, which is a membership organization made up of approximately 200 sheep ranches. Fernandez owns one of Western Range's member ranches.

Western Range acts as a “joint employer” of the H–2A workers, including Plaintiffs, under the United States Department of Labor regulations governing the program. Western Range obtained H–2A program certification, in the course of which Western Range was required to provide assurances to the United States Department of Labor that it would comply with all regulations and applicable federal, state, and local employment-related laws. Western Range further petitioned the United States Department of Homeland Security to issue H–2A visas for each of the individual sheepherders that it recruited and brought to the United States. Only an employer is permitted to petition for the issuance of H–2A visas.

Western Range arranges for each sheepherder's transportation to the United States once an H–2A visa is obtained and provides the up-front payment for their transportation. Western Range then places the sheepherder with one of its member ranches. Western Range often transfers its sheepherders between ranches, either to satisfy the amount of work guaranteed to the sheepherder, or as a solution to any problems that might arise between sheepherders and member ranches.

H–2A regulations require the employer to pay a wage that is the highest of the adverse effect wage rate,¹ the prevailing wage, or the state or federal minimum where a special procedure is approved for an occupation or specific class of agricultural employment.” 20 C.F.R. § 655.120. Employers who are offering employment for range sheepherders are permitted to offer a monthly wage rather than an hourly minimum wage pursuant to “special procedures” adopted by the Department of Labor. The monthly wage for range sheepherding in effect for Washington State at all times relevant to this suit was $750.00 per month.

In this case, Western Range placed each Plaintiff as an H–2A sheepherder at Fernandez' ranch for at least a period of their employment. Plaintiff Francisco Javier Castro was initially employed on the Fernandez ranch from March 18, 2008, through October 9, 2008. Castro was then transferred to another member ranch where he worked for a number of months. Castro was transferred back to the Fernandez ranch on March 4, 2009, and continued to work there until April 1, 2010.

Plaintiff Martinez initially began his employment as a sheepherder with other member ranches and transferred to the Fernandez ranch on January 4, 2010. Martinez left the ranch on May 24, 2010. Plaintiff Elvis Ruiz was employed on the Fernandez ranch for the entirety of his employment as a range sheepherder, from August 10, 2007, to January 3, 2010.

Plaintiffs assert that Fernandez required them to perform many tasks other than range sheepherding for significant portions of the time that they were employed as sheepherders on his ranch. Plaintiffs additionally assert that Fernandez mistreated them in other ways, including denying them their breaks, threatening to have them deported, not providing them adequate food, and placing them in housing that did not meet the minimum health and safety standards required by the H–2A program. Plaintiffs Ruiz and Castro also assert that Fernandez took their passports from them upon their arrival on the Fernandez ranch and withheld the passports for a period of many months.

Plaintiffs initially filed a complaint with the Department of Labor (“DOL”) regarding their alleged mistreatment on the Fernandez ranch. The DOL investigated the complaint, including speaking with Fernandez, Plaintiffs, and other sheepherders on Fernandez' ranch. The DOL investigator issued a narrative report in which he found that Fernandez had not kept adequate records of payment for Plaintiffs Ruiz and Castro. The investigator recommended that Fernandez be ordered to pay Plaintiff Ruiz $6,000.00 in back wages and Plaintiff Castro $7,182.00 in back wages, based on Plaintiffs' contracted rate of $750.00 per month as range sheepherders. There is no dispute that Fernandez paid the wages that the investigator concluded Plaintiffs were owed.

The investigator found that Plaintiffs' other claims were generally not valid, including Plaintiffs' claim that they were not paid at the proper rate under the H–2A regulations because they performed work other than range sheepherding. The DOL investigator additionally examined Western Range's relationship with Fernandez, but did not make a finding that Western Range owed the Plaintiffs any back wages. See ECF No. 133–4 at 3.

Plaintiffs filed suit in this Court against Fernandez and Western Range for damages arising from their time of employment on the Fernandez ranch. Plaintiffs assert causes of action against Fernandez and Western Range for violations of Washington State wage law, RCW 49.52.050; breach of employment contracts; and for quantum meruit under an implied contract theory. Plaintiffs additionally assert a claim against Defendant Western Range for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq., and against Fernandez for violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (“TVPRA”), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1589 et seq. ECF No. 1.

Defendants Western Range and Fernandez each separately move for summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs' claims. ECF Nos. 130, 135. Plaintiffs move for partial summary judgment on their FLSA claim against Western Range and breach of employment contracts against both Western Range and Fernandez. ECF No. 140. The Court has federal question jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' FLSA and TVPRA claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367. The Court applies state substantive law to those claims heard on supplemental jurisdiction. Mason & Dixon Intermodal, Inc. v. Lapmaster Inter'l, LLC., 632 F.3d 1056, 1060 (9th Cir.2011).

ANALYSIS

Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a). 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. T.W. Elec. Serv. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Ass'n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.1987). The party asserting the existence of a material fact must show “sufficient evidence supporting the claimed factual dispute ... to require a jury or judge to resolve the parties' differing versions of the truth at trial.” Id. (quoting First Nat'l Bank v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288–89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)). The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence is insufficient to establish a genuine issue of material fact. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

The moving party bears the initial burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the moving party meets this burden, the burden then shifts to the nonmoving party to “set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (internal quotations omitted). The nonmoving party “may not rely on denials in the pleadings, but must produce specific evidence, through affidavits or admissible discovery material, to show that the dispute exists.” Bhan v. NME Hosps., Inc., 929 F.2d 1404, 1409 (9th Cir.1991). In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the court must construe the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. T.W. Elec. Serv., 809 F.2d at 631–32.

A. The DOL's narrative report

Each of the parties raises an issue as to the admissibility or effect of...