Carter v. Jai-Put Enter. Inc.

• Decision Date: 30 June 2020
• Docket Number: Case No. 18-cv-06313-DMR
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
• Parties: DECATUER CARTER, Plaintiff, v. JAI-PUT ENTERPRISE INC., et al., Defendants.

DECATUER CARTER, Plaintiff, v. JAI-PUT ENTERPRISE INC., et al., Defendants.

Case No. 18-cv-06313-DMR

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

June 30, 2020

ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Re: Dkt. Nos. 46, 47

Plaintiff Decatuer Carter brings employment-related claims against Defendants Jai-Put Enterprise Inc. dba Junk King ("Junk King") and Krishna Vepa, alleging violations of the Federal Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., the California Labor Code, the California Unfair Competition Law ("UCL"), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq., and California common law. [Docket No. 1 ("Compl.").] Carter and Defendants both filed motions for summary judgment. [Docket Nos. 47 ("Pltf. Mot."); 48 ("Def. Opp."), 50 ("Pltf. Reply"), 46 ("Def. Mot."), 49 ("Pltf. Opp."), 51 ("Def. Reply").] The court has determined that this matter may be determined on the papers pursuant to Local Rule 7-1(b).

For the reasons stated below, Carter's motion is granted in part and denied in part. Defendants' motion is denied.¹

I. BACKGROUND

A. Junk King's Operations

Junk King is as a franchise of Junk King Franchise Systems. [Docket No. 49-2, Declaration of Jocelyn Burton ("Burton Decl."), Ex. 2, Deposition of Krishna Vepa ("Vepa Depo.") at 30:9-10.] The company operates exclusively in Northern California. [Docket No. 46-3, Declaration ofKrishna Vepa ("First Vepa Decl.") ¶ 2]. Vepa is the president and CEO of Junk King. Id. The company employs drivers and navigators to drive Junk King-branded trucks around the Bay Area to pick up clients' personal property and dispose of it at dumps or recycling facilities. Id. Typically, Junk King assigns a single driver to each route, but sometimes also assigns a navigator when the work is difficult. Id. The daily schedules for drivers and navigators "var[y] depending on the specific job and locations, traffic conditions, dump wait times, and other factors." Id. ¶ 3. Employees clock in every morning through Junk King's online web application, JunkWare. Id. ¶ 8. The driver and navigator teams receive their pickup schedule through JunkWare. Id. ¶ 9.

According to Vepa, employees manage their own time based on the "honor code." First Vepa Decl. ¶ 8. Employees "go out on their routes for the day, unsupervised, and in control of their lunch and break times." Id. ¶ 9. Vepa claims that both drivers and navigators have "a lot [of] control over their time and schedule." Id.

B. Junk King's Meal and Rest Break Policies

Vepa represents that "the nature of the work prevents employees from being relieved of all duty for their 30-minute lunch break as required under California law." First Vepa Decl. ¶ 3. As a result, Junk King provides its drivers and navigators with an "on-duty meal period" option for their lunch break, which is reflected in Junk King's On Duty Meal Period Agreement:²

Jai=Put Enterprise Inc. ("the Company") & __________ ("Employee") Agree that the nature of the Employee's work as Junk Haul-away worker at Jai-Put Enterprise Inc on the truck, as driver or Navigator usually prevents Employee from getting relieved in taking a 30 minute uninterrupted meal-break.

The Employee agrees as an alternate, to an on-duty meal break whenever the employee activity during the work day prevents them from to have an uninterrupted meal-break during work day. In this case the employee will be compensated for such meal break periods at the rate of one hour of pay at the employee's regular rate.

Employee understands that if a 30-minute uninterrupted meal period is provided, it will not be an on-duty meal break, and employee will not be compensated at all times.

Employee understand an on-duty meal break maybe revoked at any time, by providing company with a notice of revocation

First Vepa Decl., Ex. A. Carter signed the On Duty Meal Period Agreement on November 29, 2016. Id. Vepa represents that the agreement is voluntary. First Vepa Decl. ¶ 4.

Junk King also provides a Policy on Best Practices handout that explains company policy regarding, among other things, meal and rest breaks:³

Meal Breaks, & Rest policy

a. JKCC has flex-time policy for lunch breaks. Remember, you have agreed to on-time meal breaks. 1-hour break is allowed, inclusive of drive time when work duration exceeds 5 hours, of which at least 30-minute seated meal break is suggested. It is expected that your choice of a stop for eating be located along work route. toilet breaks are not included in these calculations, but passed on past experience reasonable (eg 10 to 15 min enroute) are OK. Finally, lunch is expected to be taken during regular hours and not end of the shift-that is not lunch

b. Clock i/o for Lunch generally not later than 5 hrs from start for 1 hr. Grace time of 45 min is allowed in case being stick due to the job. Inform management by text or call

c. All employees especially drivers are encouraged to take a break during daily truck operations. When possible ensure that you take a break and stretch, to keep alert on the job. Two more 15-minute refresher breaks are encouraged. Being alert and avoiding accidents is highly encouraged

First Vepa Decl., Ex. B.

C. Junk King's Telephone Plan

Junk King implemented a telephone purchase plan for employees in January 2017. First Vepa Decl. ¶ 12. Relevant portions of Junk King's Telephone Policy are excerpted below:

It is the responsibility of all employees who are required to have a cell phone for their job duties to ensure compliance with this policy. . . . Cell phones are required by employees in some positions in the company in order to maintain contact with customers, vendors, supervisors, and other employees. In general, this includes, Sales, Marketing, and Drivers.

...The phone referred to in this document is an iPhone 7, purchased in name of Krishna Vepa, President Junk King Contra Costa, from Verizon Wireless. The phones are purchased by Krishna Vepa on behalf of Junk King Contra Costa for subsequent use by company employees.

...

All those employees who voluntarily participate in this telephone scheme, will consent to payroll deduction towards repayment of company funded equipment purchase, and co-shared data, voice plan charges by Verizon during non-business hours, for personal use.

. . .

Following charges will be deducted towards the usage of the phone

a. Equipment charges to be paid by employee in 24 monthly installments as determined by Verizon fee statement

b. 5GB of free data will be included with each phone. It is expected that this will cover usage during work hour, and off work personal use. All users will be enabled with data metering to keep track of usage. Additional use will be charged to user at prevailing Verizon excess charge rate. Employee is encouraged to monitor usage at all times.

c. Monthly line access fee[.] The phone is being provided as a co-shared service, and in principal will be paid in equal amounts by both (employer and employee). The amount will be determined by charges levied by Verizon.

First Vepa Decl., Ex. E. Carter signed the Telephone Policy on January 23, 2017. Id. He testified that employees were required to purchase a cell phone through the plan as a condition of employment. [Burton Decl., Ex. 2, Deposition of Decatuer Carter ("Carter Depo.") at 75:9-18.] He stated that Vepa told employees that if they did not sign the Telephone Policy, they would lose their job. Carter Depo. at 79:4-25. Payment for a phone was deducted from his wages. Carter Depo. at 71:13-18. When he was terminated by Junk King, he kept the cell phone. Carter Depo. at 122:17-18. Vepa testified that he paid Carter the amount that had been deducted from his wages to purchase the cell phone, while Carter stated that he has still not been reimbursed. Carter Depo. at 122:19-123:1.

D. Carter's Employment

Carter worked for Junk King as a navigator from November 30, 2016 to August 14, 2017. Vepa Decl. ¶ 5. According to Carter, Vepa was the only person in a management position duringCarter's time there. Carter Depo. at 45:10-15. Carter and the other employees were assigned routes and trucks every morning through the JunkWare app. Carter Depo. at 37:19-38:2, 39:6-40:3; Vepa Decl. ¶ 8. As a navigator, Carter was always paired with a driver. Carter Depo. at 40:10-13. The team completed jobs as they were listed in the app, and Carter was responsible for calling customers to give them estimated arrival times. Carter Depo. at 36:17-24, 40:23-41:14. Once the team completed a job, Carter would log the type and amount of items removed in the app, and report how the items were discarded (e.g., "recycled"). Carter Depo at 41:15-42:4. The team sometimes did not know what or how much they would be picking up, and they would have to make unscheduled drop-offs at a dump or recycling center. Carter Depo. at 42:5-16. Occasionally, the trucks had maintenance issues that would further delay the route. Carter Depo. at 42:17-24.

According to Carter, he did not discuss meal and rest breaks with Vepa when he started working for Junk King. Carter Depo. at 45:18-24. He claimed that he did not receive an employee manual at that time. Carter Depo. at 53:12-14. Carter acknowledged that he did receive and sign a copy of the On Duty Meal Period Agreement. Carter Depo. at 46:18-47:21. He represented that he understood the agreement meant that he would be paid for an hour of work if he did not receive an off-duty lunch break, and that he would not be paid if he was able to take an uninterrupted 30-minute break. Carter Depo. at 49:14-51:5. However, he testified that he did not understand that he could revoke the agreement at any time. Carter Depo. at 51:18-20.

Carter asserted that he did not take any rest breaks during the day, except when a client asked him to take a break. Carter Depo. at 61:25-62:4, 62:10-15. He also did not take any meal breaks during the day and would eat after he clocked out for the evening. Carter Depo. at 65:17-23. He testified that Vepa told employees, "If you're not working, you're not...