Howard v. Post Foods, LLC

• Decision Date: 14 September 2022
• Docket Number: 1:19-cv-570
• Parties: KEITH HOWARD, et al., Plaintiffs, v. POST FOODS, LLC, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan

KEITH HOWARD, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
POST FOODS, LLC, Defendant.

No. 1:19-cv-570

United States District Court, W.D. Michigan, Southern Division

September 14, 2022

OPINION

HALA Y. JARBOU, CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.

This is a putative collective action asserting claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. Plaintiffs allege that their employer, Post Foods, LLC, failed to compensate them for all their overtime hours worked as required by the FLSA. Before the Court are Post's motion to strike (ECF No. 58), Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment as to liability (ECF No. 61), and Post's motions for summary judgment (ECF Nos. 64, 83). For the reasons herein, the Court will deny Post's motion to strike, grant Post's motions for summary judgment, deny Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment, and dismiss the case.

I. BACKGROUND

The following is a summary of the facts of this case, construing the evidence in a light most favorable to Plaintiffs.

A. The Parties

Defendant Post Foods, LLC is a cereal manufacturer that employs hundreds of workers at its cereal manufacturing plant in Battle Creek, Michigan. A union represents these workers.

Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of themselves and

[a]ll individuals who worked at any time during and after April 2019 for Defendant at its plant located in Battle Creek, Michigan

(2d Am. Compl. ¶ 34, ECF No. 74.)

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Plaintiffs hold, or held, a variety of positions in different buildings at the Battle Creek plant, which consists of over 40 buildings on a 65-acre campus. (Clancy Decl. ¶ 3, ECF No. 64-1.) Plaintiff Keith Howard is an electrician who works in building 29. (Id. ¶ 12.) Plaintiff Archie Smith was a mechanic. (Id.) Plaintiff Stephanie Banks holds the position of “A2 Reels” in building 32. (Id.) Plaintiff Kevin Jackson is employed as “A4 Production” in building 17. (Id.) Jerry Panczyk is employed as “A5 Process” in building 17. (Id.) Plaintiff Marianne Heikkila is employed as “MHC^[1] Operator” in building 37. (Id.) Plaintiff Terry Greenfield held the position of “Grounds 31” in the MHC building. (Id.) Plaintiff Autumn Tendzieloski is a “QA Technician” in a laboratory in building 14. (Id.)

The production of cereal occurs in buildings 4, 17, 20/32, and 29. (Id. ¶ 7.) The other buildings house “ancillary services,” including grain storage, a powerplant, offices, and the MHC, which is a “large storage and distribution warehouse.” (Id.) The parties refer to the employees who work in areas where production occurs as “production employees.” (See id.; see also Pls.' Br. in Supp. of Mot. for Partial Summ. J. 3-4, ECF No. 62.) The remaining employees are nonproduction employees. Production employees are not necessarily directly involved in the production of food. They could be responsible for repairing manufacturing equipment, moving materials within production areas, packaging boxes and finished product, or providing janitorial and safety services. (Id.)

B. Use of Uniforms at the Battle Creek Plant

Much of this case centers on whether Post must pay its hourly employees for time spent donning and doffing uniforms. Post employees have worn uniforms at the Battle Creek plant since the 1950's. (Clancy Decl. ¶ 14.) Before 2019, those uniforms consisted of jeans or khakis, a t-shirt

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issued by Post, and safety shoes. (Id.) Employees could change into their uniforms at the plant, but they were not required to do so. Some employees put their uniforms on at home before traveling to the plant. (Id.) Post has never paid its employees for time spent changing into or out of their uniforms and shoes. (Id.)

C. 2016 CBA

In 2015, while negotiating the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) with the union, Post proposed a new uniform policy, which the parties refer to as the “captive uniform policy” or “CUP.” That policy would require employees to wear uniforms supplied by Post, and to don and doff those uniforms while at the plant. (See Ex. E to Clancy Decl., ECF No. 64-2, PageID.1283.) Employees would no longer be allowed to wear their uniforms or safety shoes outside the plant. (Id.) And as before, the time spent changing into these uniforms and shoes would “not be counted as time worked.” (Id.) The main purpose of the new policy was to “prevent the transfer of microbiological contaminants into the facility, through potentially contaminated footwear and outer clothing.” (Clancy Decl. ¶ 15.) It also helps distinguish production employees from non-production employees. (See id. ¶ 16; Banks Dep. 38, ECF No. 64-16.)

At first, the union did not accept the terms of the CUP. In November 2015, it proposed that Post pay its employees for 20 minutes of donning and doffing time, and for “reasonable travel time to and from where their required uniforms are stored and their work area[.]” (Clancy Decl. ¶ 18; see Union Proposal, Ex. F. to Clancy Decl., ECF No. 64-2, PageID.1285.) Post rejected that proposal. (Id. ¶ 19.)

In January 2016, the union again proposed that Post pay for time spent donning and doffing uniforms, as well as “reasonable travel time.” (Id. ¶ 20; see Union Proposal, Ex. G to Clancy Decl., ECF No. 64-2, PageID.1289.) Post again rejected that proposal. (Id.)

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Post and the union subsequently adopted Article 43.1 as part of the 2016 CBA, which provides as follows:

Uniforms. The Company will supply uniforms and laundry services at no cost to the employee. Uniforms must be worn by employees while at work. Employees shall be required to change clothing on Company premises, and that time shall not be counted as time worked. Employees may not wear or take their uniforms or any safety shoes outside of Plant security gates. This provision will be implemented at a time determined by the Company during the term of this Agreement with 30 days advance notice to the Union.

(2016 CBA, ECF No. 64-1, PageID.1078 (emphasis added).)

D. Implementation of the CUP

In April and May of 2019, Post implemented the new uniform policy contemplated by Article 43.1 of the CBA. Under that policy, employees must change into their uniforms at work, according to a detailed procedure. Post restructured the plant to incorporate this procedure. Before the CUP, employees could enter the plant through one of four entrances. After the CUP, their options are more limited. As described below, the procedure for production employees is somewhat different than the procedure for non-production employees.

1. Production Employees

Production employees work in areas “within food contact,” so they are expected to follow Good Manufacturing Practices (“GMP”). (Hakman Dep. 16, ECF No. 62-5; see GMP Policy (effective May 28, 2019), ECF No. 64-2, PageID.1299; GMP Policy (effective July 11, 2019), ECF No. 64-2, PageID.1306.) Production employees must enter the plant through an entrance in building 8. (GMP Policy.) In that building, they retrieve and change into dedicated work shoes. Next, they proceed to a locker room in the same building to retrieve and change into their uniforms (a blue t-shirt and a blue pair of khakis).

After changing, these employees walk to a central handwashing and footwear sanitizing station in building 14, where they put on safety equipment if they have not already done so (i.e., a

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bump cap, ear plugs, hairnet, beardnet, and safety glasses; collectively, the “Safety Gear”). They sanitize their shoes by spraying them by hand or by stepping onto a machine that sprays sanitizer on them. They also sanitize their bump cap and any other items they may be carrying into production areas (e.g., backpack, radio, tools) by wiping and/or spraying them with sanitizer. (GMP Policy, PageID.1301, 1307; Ford Dep. 12, ECF No. 64-19.) Next, they proceed to their work areas in the various production buildings, where they clock in for work.

At the end of their shifts, they walk back to the locker rooms in building 8 to change out of their uniforms, deposit them in laundry bins, and change their shoes. They typically dispose of their earplugs and hairnets. (Banks Dep. 43-44.)

2. Non-production Employees

Non-production employees enter the plant through the MHC or building 8. They then walk to their work areas. They don their uniforms (a grey t-shirt and a grey pair of khakis) in their work buildings and clock in near the locker rooms where they change. (Clancy Decl. ¶ 26.) Some nonproduction employees clock in for work before changing; others do so after. (Id.) Some nonproduction employees also wear a bump cap, safety glasses, and ear protection, but they are not required to wash their hands, to wear hairnets or beardnets, or to sanitize their equipment. (Id.)

Post does not pay any of its employees (production or non-production) for their pre-shift time spent changing clothes, donning Safety Gear, washing, sanitizing, or walking between the plant entrances and their work areas, or for their post-shift time changing out of the uniforms and Safety Gear.

E. 2020 CBA

Post and the union discussed Article 43.1 when negotiating a new CBA to take effect in 2020. The union proposed that Post pay its employees an extra thirty minutes of time to cover donning, doffing, washing, and travel time between buildings before and after shifts. (Clancy

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Decl. ¶ 40.) The union dropped that request after Post agreed to allow its employees to work double shifts at overtime or double-time rates. (Id. ¶ 41.) Consequently, Article 43.1 remained unchanged in the 2020 CBA. (See 2020 CBA, Art. 43.1, ECF No. 64-1, PageID.1186.)

F. Employee Pay & Breaks

Under both the 2016 and 2020 CBAs, employees represented by the union are paid hourly rates based on their shift start and end times, unless they work overtime. (Clancy Decl. ¶ 43.) They can clock in fifteen minutes before their shifts start, but they are not paid for time before the start of their scheduled...