Duplesse v. County Of Los Angeles

• Decision Date: 18 May 2010
• Docket Number: No. CV 08-5819 AHM (FMOx).,CV 08-5819 AHM (FMOx).
• Citation: Duplesse v. Cnty. of Los Angeles, 714 F.Supp.2d 1045 (C.D. Cal. 2010)
• Parties: Richard DUPLESSE, et al. v. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Central District of California

714 F.Supp.2d 1045

Richard DUPLESSE, et al.

v.COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, et al.

No. CV 08-5819 AHM (FMOx).

United States District Court,C.D. California.

May 18, 2010.

Justin P. Karczag, Nathan T. Lowery, Thomas Foley, Foley Bezek Behle And Curtis LLP, Santa Barbara, CA, Richard E. Donahoo, Thomas John Welch, Donahoo and Associates, Tustin, CA, for Plaintiffs.

Deborah C. Saxe, Ruth M. Holt, Jones Day, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendant.

Proceedings: IN CHAMBERS (No Proceedings Held)

A. HOWARD MATZ, District Judge.

Stephen Montes, Deputy Clerk.

PlaintiffsRichard Duplesse and Tom Fahrny(collectively, “Plaintiffs”) brought this case as a collective action pursuant to section 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act(“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 216(b).Plaintiffs, who are fire fighters employed by the County of Los Angeles (“County”), allege that the County is violating the FLSA by failing to pay them overtime compensation at one and one-half times the “regular rate of pay” as defined by the FLSA.Specifically, they allege that the County is required to include certain non-discretionary bonuses given to fire fighters who work in certain positions in the “regular rate of pay” for purposes of calculating overtime.Because the Court finds that the manner in which the County determines Plaintiffs' regular rate of pay and calculates overtime does not violate the FLSA, the Court GRANTS Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment.¹

I.FACTS

The relevant facts are not in dispute.All 82 class members are regularly assigned to paramedic post (“Post Paramedic”) positions or to the Hazardous Materials (“Haz-Mat”) Task Force.They are employed as “Item 0199” Fire Fighters pursuant to the Los Angeles County Code and a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between the Fire Department and Los Angeles County Firefighters 1014, IAFF, AFCL-CIO, which represents them.Item 0199 Fire Fighters are also called “56 Hour Fire Fighters” because they are regularly assigned to a work schedule that averages 56 hours per week.(SUF ¶ 22.)

In accordance with a stipulation of the parties, the Court conditionally certified a collective action consisting of all persons employed by the County of Los Angeles pursuant to the MOU as Item 0199 Fire Fighters who were assigned for at least 30 consecutive calendar days between September 9, 2005 and May 12, 2009, to either (1) a post-paramedic position, (2) the Hazardous Materials Task Force, or (2) an Urban Search and Rescue Position.( SeeDocketNo. 26.)Of the 947 qualifying employees, 82 opted in to the class.²

Pursuant to the MOU, Plaintiffs' “Work Period” is 24 consecutive days, consisting of eight 24-hour shifts that run from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. the following day.(SUF ¶¶ 23, 29-30.)Thus, there are 192 regularly scheduled work hours in each 24-day Work Period (8 shifts x 24 hours/shift = 192 hours).

Plaintiffs' pay is governed by the MOU.For Item 0199 Fire Fighters, the MOU provides a base monthly salary range of $4,260.74 to $6,229.18 depending on the number of salary “steps” the employee has earned based on tenure and satisfactory annual reviews (WilliamsDecl. ¶ 25 and Exh. 3 [Article 9 § 1 of Amendment No. 1 to MOU, salary effective August 1, 2008].)This starting salary is referred to as the “Salary Schedule and Level” or “grid salary.”The grid salary can be increased by adding what the MOU refers to as “bonuses.”These “bonuses” come in the form of an increase in the employee's salary by a certain number of “salary schedules” or “levels.”³For example, Item 0199 Fire Fighters are entitled to receive a monthly salary increase of 12 standard salary levels for completing an annual “Wellness/Fitness for Life Program.”( Id.¶ 30 and Exh. 3 [Article 9 § 13 of Amendment No. 1 to MOU, salary effective August 1, 2008].)These bonuses are designed as either “Base Rate” or “Other Base” bonuses, and are included in an employee's monthly salary.(SUF ¶ 45.)

The specific “bonuses” that are at the center of this dispute are for (1) Item 0199 Fire Fighters who are certified as paramedics and regularly assigned to Post Paramedic Positions; and (2) qualified Item 0199 Fire Fighters who are regularly assigned to Hazardous Material Task Force (“Haz-Mat”) positions.Specifically:

• Post-Paramedic bonus-Pursuant to Article 9 § 6.a of the MOU, Item 0199 Fire Fighters who are certified as paramedics and are regularly assigned to Post Paramedic Positions are entitled

to a “Post Paramedic Bonus” that increases their monthly “grid salaries” by six “Salary Schedules”(which is the equivalent of 66 salary “levels”), as well as “a lump sum of $400 upon each recertification.”(SUF ¶ 42.)However, Item 0199 Fire Fighters who are certified paramedics but who are not regularly assigned to Post Paramedic Positions do not receive the Post Paramedic “bonus.”( Id.¶ 43.)

• Haz-Mat bonus-Pursuant to Article 9 § 9 of the MOU, Item 0199 Fire Fighters who have received certification in one of four specified subjects and are assigned to a designated Haz-Mat position receive a “Safety Personnel Bonus” which provides a salary increase of 20 standard salary levels.(SUF ¶ 44.)However, Item 0199 Fire Fighters who are certified in one of the four specified subjects and are not regularly assigned to Haz-Mat positions do not receive the salary increase.( Id.)

The Post-Paramedic Bonus is designated as an “Other Base” bonus, and is thus included in the “normal monthly salaries” of Item 0199 Fire Fighters.(SUF ¶¶ 45-46.)The MOU specifies that the Safety Personnel Bonus or Haz-Mat bonus is to “be considered as wages for all purposes.”(MOU Article 9 § 9.)

The County's automated timekeeping system automatically calculates Item 0199 Fire Fighter monthly salaries based on personnel data entered by the Fire Department.(SUF ¶ 48.)The timekeeping system starts with the grid salary on the Salary Table that is associated with the employee's classification and tenure.Salary levels are added to the grid salary depending on whether the employee is entitled to receive one of the “Base Rate” or “Other Rate” bonuses.(Id.)

To illustrate how these bonuses work, Duplesse's current salary is calculated as follows.Duplesse is at the top “step” of the salary range for Item 0199 Fire Fighters, which as of August 1, 2008, is at the 5th Step of the Salary Schedule and Level, and “91G” on the Salary Table, which is $6,229.18 per month.This is his “grid salary.”His grid salary is augmented by: (1) a 10 Year Longevity “bonus” of 11 salary levels; (2) an EMT “bonus”(for having obtained Emergency Medical Technician certification) of 44 salary levels; (3) the Wellness “bonus” of 12 salary levels; and (4) the Post Paramedic Bonus of 66 salary levels.(SUF ¶ 49.)Thus, Duplesse's “bonuses” provide him with a total of 133 salary level increases (11 + 44 + 12+ 66).The County's automated timekeeping system automatically adds 133 salary levels to reach the 5th Step of the Salary Schedule and Level and “103(H)” on the Salary Table, which brings Duplesse's total monthly salary to $8,645.91.( Id.)

The monthly salary is intended to compensate Item 0199 Fire Fighters for all hours in their regularly-scheduled shifts ( i.e., the 8 shifts per 24-day Work Period in their regular schedule) in a month.(SUF ¶¶ 51, 55.)Plaintiffs receive their full monthly salaries for any month in which they work and/or use paid benefit hours for all of the shifts in their regular schedules.If Plaintiffs take unpaid time off, their monthly salaries are pro-rated.( Id.¶ 53.)

Pay for Unscheduled Hours

Fire Fighters sometimes work unscheduled hours.Unscheduled hours can occur, for example, when the Fire Department and/or State agencies are fighting fires on multiple fronts throughout the County or State (often during fire season).(SUF ¶ 58.)Fire Fighters may be required to work unscheduled shifts pursuant to a mandatory “recall” when the need for Item 0199 Fire Fighters exceeds the number of Item 1099 Fire Fighters who have indicated availability for a particular shift.( Id.¶ 61.)When an Item 0199 Fire Fighter works an unscheduled shift ( i.e., any shift other than one of the 8 shifts that he is scheduled to work in a given 24-day Work period), he receives “straight time” pay for each hour worked.Plaintiffs' “straight time rate” refers to their monthly salary divided by 243.6 (the average number of hours that Plaintiffs are scheduled to work in a month).( Id.¶ 54.)If Plaintiffs work unscheduled shifts in their regular classification and position ( i.e., in a Post Paramedic position or Haz-Mat position), they are entitled to straight-time pay for each unscheduled hour worked at the hourly rate calculated according to their monthly salary.(SUF ¶ 77.)Thus, for example, if Duplesse (who has a current monthly salary of $8,645.91) works unscheduled hours in a Post Paramedic position, he will be compensated at a “straight time” rate of $35,492 per hour ($8,645.91 divided by 243.6).( Id.¶ 78.)

Depending on the needs of the Fire Department, Item 0199 Fire Fighters who are regularly assigned to Post Paramedic positions or Haz-Mat positions may be assigned to work unscheduled hours in non-Post Paramedic or non-Haz-Mat positions (hereinafter “Regular Fire Fighter positions”).(SUF ¶¶ 62, 63)In such cases, the County compensates these fire fighters at a straight-time hourly rate that is equal to the straight-time rate to which they would be entitled if they were not receiving the Post Paramedic or Haz-Mat bonus.( Id.¶ 80.)⁴For example, if Duplesse works an unscheduled shift in a Regular Fire Fighter position, he is compensated at a straight-time hourly rate of $30,163 for each hour worked.This figure is arrived at by taking Duplesse's starting “grid salary”($6,229.18) and adding the (1) 10 Year Longevity bonus; (2) the EMT bonus; and (3) the Wellness bonus, and dividing it by 243.6.( Id.¶ 81.)The Post-Paramedic bonus is not added to Duplesse's total salary in ...