Avalos v. United States
| Decision Date | 30 November 2022 |
| Docket Number | 2021-2008, 2021-2009, 2021-2010, 2021-2011, 2021-2012, 2021-2014, 2021-2015, 2021-2016, 2021-2017, 2021-2018, 2021-2019, 2021-2020 |
| Citation | 54 F.4th 1343 |
| Parties | Eleazar AVALOS, James Davis, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellant L. Kevin Arnold, Martin Lee, Mark Munoz, Matthew Perry, Aaron Savage, Jennifer Taylor, Ralph Fulvio, David Kirsh, Robert Riggs, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant Roberto Hernandez, Joseph Quintanar, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant Lori Anello, Karl Black, George Clary, William Denell, Justin Grossnickle, Eric Inkrote, Timothy McGrew, Mark Miller, David Nalborczyk, Martin Neal, Jr., Luke Palmer, Thomas Rhinehart, Jr., Ivan Todd, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant Brian Richmond, Adam Smith, Thomas Moore, Chris Barrett, William Adams, Kelly Butterbaugh, Dan Erzal, Brian W. Kline, Kevin J. Sheehan, Jason Karlheim, Charles Pinnizzotto, Jason Dignan, Mathew Beck, Stephen Shrift, James Bianconi, Christopher Grafton, Jesse Carter, Michael Cruz, Carl Warner, Brian Owens, Brian Mueller, Bryan Bower, Corey Trammel, James Kirkland, Kimberly Bush, Bobby Marburger, Rodney Atkins, Leonel Hernandez, Joseph Augusta, Edward Watt, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant Justin Tarovisky, Grayson Sharp, Sandra Parr, Justin Bieger, James Bratton, William Frost, Steve Glaser, Aaron Hardin, Stuart Hillenbrand, Joseph Karwoski, Patrick Richoux, Derreck Root, Carlos Shannon, Shannon Swaggerty, Geoffry Wellein, Becky White, Tammy Wilson, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant Quentin Baca, Lephas Bailey, Christopher Ballester, Kevin Beine, David Bell, Richard Blam, Maximilian Crawford, Matthew Crumrine, John Dewey, Jeffrey Diamond, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant David Jones, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiff-Appellee v. United States, Defendant-Appellant Tony Rowe, Alieu Jallow, Karletta Bahe, Johnny Durant, Jesse A. McKay, III, George Demarce, Jacquie Demarce, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant D. P., T. S., J. V., Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant Plaintiff No. 1, Plaintiff No. 2, Plaintiff No. 3, Plaintiff No. 4, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant I. P., A. C., S. W., D. W., P. V., M. R., R. C., K. W., B. G., R. H., Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. United States, Defendant-Appellant |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit |
Leon Dayan, Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC, Washington, DC, argued for all plaintiffs-appellees. Plaintiffs-appellees Eleazar Avalos, James Davis also represented by Joshua A. Segal ; Allison Giles, Julie M. Wilson, National Treasury Employees Union, Washington, DC.
Jacob Y. Statman, Snider & Associates, LLC, Baltimore, MD, for plaintiffs-appellees L. Kevin Arnold, Ralph Fulvio, David Kirsh, Martin Lee, Mark Munoz, Matthew Perry, Robert Riggs, Aaron Savage, Jennifer Taylor. Also represented by Jason Ian Weisbrot.
William Clifton Alexander, Anderson Alexander, PLLC, Corpus Christi, TX, for plaintiffs-appellees Roberto Hernandez, Joseph Quintanar. Also represented by Alan Clifton Gordon.
Theodore Reid Coploff, McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP, Washington, DC, for plaintiffs-appellees Lori Anello, Karl Black, George Clary, William Denell, Justin Grossnickle, Eric Inkrote, Timothy McGrew, Mark Miller, David Nalborczyk, Martin Neal, Jr., Luke Palmer, Thomas Rhinehart, Jr., Ivan Todd. Also represented by Sarah Block, Gregory K. McGillivary.
Jack K. Whitehead, JR., Whitehead Law Firm, Baton Rouge, LA, for plaintiffs-appellees William Adams, Rodney Atkins, Joseph Augusta, Chris Barrett, Mathew Beck, James Bianconi, Bryan Bower, Kimberly Bush, Kelly Butterbaugh, Jesse Carter, Michael Cruz, Jason Dignan, Dan Erzal, Christopher Grafton, Leonel Hernandez, Jason Karlheim, James Kirkland, Brian W. Kline, Bobby Marburger, Thomas Moore, Brian Mueller, Brian Owens, Charles Pinnizzotto, Brian Richmond, Kevin J. Sheehan, Stephen Shrift, Adam Smith, Corey Trammel, Carl Warner, Edward Watt.
Heidi R. Burakiewicz, Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, PC, Washington, DC, for plaintiffs-appellees Justin Bieger, James Bratton, William Frost, Steve Glaser, Aaron Hardin, Stuart Hillenbrand, Joseph Karwoski, Sandra Parr, Patrick Richoux, Derreck Root, Carlos Shannon, Grayson Sharp, Shannon Swaggerty, Justin Tarovisky, Geoffry Wellein, Becky White, Tammy Wilson. Also represented by Donald Robert Depriest; Denise Duarte Alves, American Federation of Government Employees, Washington, DC.
Molly A. Elkin, McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP, Washington, DC, for plaintiffs-appellees Quentin Baca, Lephas Bailey, Christopher Ballester, Kevin Beine, David Bell, Richard Blam, Maximilian Crawford, Matthew Crumrine, John Dewey, Jeffrey Diamond. Also represented by Gregory K. McGillivary.
Josh Sanford, Sanford Law Firm, PLLC, Little Rock, AR, for plaintiff-appellee David Jones.
Marshall Ray, Law Offices of Marshall J. Ray, LLC, Albuquerque, NM, for plaintiffs-appellees Karletta Bahe, George Demarce, Jacquie Demarce, Johnny Durant, Alieu Jallow, Jesse A. McKay, III, Tony Rowe. Also represented by Jason Jon Lewis, Law Office of Jason J. Lewis LLC, Albuquerque, NM.
Nicholas Wieczorek, Clark Hill PLLC, Las Vegas, NV, for plaintiffs-appellees D. P., T. S., J. V.
Jules Bernstein, Bernstein & Lipsett PC, Washington, DC, for plaintiffs-appellees Plaintiff No. 1, Plaintiff No. 2, Plaintiff No. 3, Plaintiff No. 4. Also represented by Linda Lipsett ; Daniel M. Rosenthal, Brita C. Zacek, James & Hoffman, P.C., Washington, DC.
Lauren Reznick, Borrelli & Associates, PLLC, Garden City, NY, for plaintiffs-appellees A. C., R. C., B. G., R. H., I. P., M. R., D. W., K. W., S. W., P. V.
Mark B. Stern, Appellate Staff, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, argued for defendant-appellant. Also represented by Brian M. Boynton, Sean Janda, Michael Shih.
Before Reyna, Linn, and Hughes, Circuit Judges.
This interlocutory appeal addresses whether the government violates the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying federal employees who work during a government shutdown until after the lapse in appropriations has been resolved. The Court of Federal Claims determined that the employees had established a prima facie case of an FLSA violation even though the Anti-Deficiency Act legally barred the government from making payments during the shutdown. Because we determine that the government did not violate the FLSA's timely payment obligation as a matter of law, we reverse.
From December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, the federal government partially shut down because of a lapse in appropriations. Plaintiffs-Appellees continued to work despite the shutdown because of their status as "excepted employees"—employees who work on "emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property" and whom the government can "require[ ] to perform work during a covered lapse in appropriations." 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341(c)(2), 1342. During this shutdown period, the government was barred from paying wages to excepted employees by the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prohibits the government from "authoriz[ing] an expenditure or obligation exceeding an amount available in an appropriation or fund for the expenditure or obligation." 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a)(1)(A). The parties do not dispute that the government paid Plaintiffs-Appellees their accrued wages after the partial shutdown ended.
Plaintiffs-Appellees sued the government in the United States Court of Federal Claims, alleging that the government violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) "by failing to timely pay their earned overtime and regular wages during the partial government shutdown." Appx12. Plaintiffs-Appellees sought liquidated damages under the FLSA, asserting that the government failed to make timely payments when it missed three scheduled pay dates during the partial shutdown: December 28, 2018; January 10, 2019; and January 24, 2019. Plaintiffs-Appellees' Br. 8; see 29 U.S.C. § 260. Under the FLSA, any employer who does not timely pay minimum or overtime wages is liable for liquidated damages equal to the amount of the untimely paid wages. See 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). But the Court of Federal Claims has the discretion to award no liquidated damages "if the employer shows ... that the act or omission giving rise to [the FLSA] action was in good faith" and was based on Act. Id. § 260.
The government moved to dismiss Plaintiffs-Appellees' complaint under Court of Federal Claims Rule 12(b)(6) for failing to state a claim. The government argued that it "cannot be held liable for violating its obligations under the FLSA" because the Anti-Deficiency Act prohibited the government from paying Plaintiffs-Appellees during the partial shutdown. Appx21. The Court of Federal Claims denied the government's motion to dismiss, reasoning that Plaintiffs-Appellees "had ‘alleged that [the government] had failed to pay wages’ on [Plaintiffs-Appellees'] ‘next regularly scheduled payday’ " and therefore stated a claim for relief under the FLSA. Avalos v. United States , 151 Fed. Cl. 380, 388 (2020) (quoting Martin v. United States , 130 Fed. Cl. 578, 584 (2017) ). The trial court relied on its decision in Martin , in which it determined that "the appropriate way to reconcile [the Anti-Deficiency Act and the FLSA] is not to cancel the defendant's obligation to pay its employees" under the FLSA, but to "require that [the] defendant demonstrate a good faith belief, based on reasonable grounds, that its actions were appropriate" per 29 U.S.C. § 260. Martin , 130 Fed. Cl. at 584. The trial court then granted the government's motion to stay...
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