Kaczanowski v. Home State Bank

• Decision Date: 06 May 1948
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 4445.
• Citation: 77 F. Supp. 602
• Parties: KACZANOWSKI v. HOME STATE BANK.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Wisconsin

77 F. Supp. 602

KACZANOWSKI v. HOME STATE BANK.

Civ. A. No. 4445.

District Court, E. D. Wisconsin.

May 6, 1948.

Max Raskin, of Milwaukee, Wis., for plaintiff.

Kaumheimer, Alt & Likert, of Milwaukee, Wis., for defendant.

DUFFY, District Judge.

Plaintiff brings this action under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., for alleged unpaid overtime compensation for the period from August 1, 1941, to January 6, 1946, plus liquidated damages and attorney fees. She first entered defendant's employ in 1926. For ten years her duties consisted of stenographic work, typing, some bookkeeping and management of the safety deposit vault. She was made assistant cashier in 1936. Thereafter, in addition to other work, she handled insurance loans and the travel department. After 1938 she was also responsible for compliance by the bank with the Fair Labor Standards Act. On May 8, 1941, defendant hired a full-time stenographer, and plaintiff was relieved of her stenographic duties, although for convenience she at times used the typewriter in carrying out some of her duties.

In handling life insurance loans plaintiff drafted assignment papers and notes, checked the validity of assignment of policies, paid off policy loans, and made other contacts with the various insurance companies. During the period here in question defendant made 653 loans; of these plaintiff was the principal authority on 283 loans, or more than 43%. In addition plaintiff was co-ordinating authority with the defendant's vice president on 7.8% of the loans.

The president of the bank was not active and its management was in the hands of Harry Z. Logan, vice president, Louis Saksefski, cashier, and plaintiff, as assistant cashier. These three constituted the management committee. All decisions of importance were made by this committee, subject to appeal to the Board of Directors. One of the duties of the management committee was to prepare the annual budget, including the determination of salaries of all employees other than their own. This committee also passed on loans, the purchase of equipment, and managed the general operations of the bank. In the absence of the vice president and cashier, plaintiff was in charge of the bank.

The turn over in personnel of defendant, a small bank, has been very limited; in fact during the period in question only one employee was discharged, and this was upon the recommendation of plaintiff. Two employees were hired for the bank by plaintiff.

As part of her supervisory duties, plaintiff issued 64 out of a total of 132 bank memoranda directed to employees, pertaining to prescribed methods and practices within the bank. Among plaintiff's additional duties and responsibilities were: serving as secretary of the loan committee of the Board of Directors, establishing the Blue Cross Hospital plan for defendant's employees, arranging for indemnity bonds in case of lost instruments, having access at all times to the vaults and money safe and to the bank's confidential files and records, and having available the confidential salary figures for each officer and employee, signing drafts and certified checks, executing legal documents on behalf of the bank, being in charge of the deposit signature cards, placing orders for the purchase and sale of customer's securities, supervising much of the work of the employees who reported to her any difficulties with reference to bills receivable register and ledger, collateral register, and cash items, supervising employees in handling signature cards and Christmas Club accounts, handling the transfer of shares of the bank's stock when necessary, determining the amount of dividends due to each shareholder and preparing the dividend checks, and being responsible for the preparation of federal and State salary and dividend reports.

On Mondays through Fridays plaintiff customarily did some work each day in a teller's cage. When she arrived at work on such mornings she would go to Cage 1 and put the coin and currency placed there by the cashier in the coin machine and drawer respectively. This took only a few minutes. The remainder of the morning was devoted to other business, principally loan work. Customarily plaintiff took her lunch period from 11:00 A.M. to 12:00 M. The busiest rush of the day's work at the bank is between noon and 1:00 P.M. Upon entering the bank a customer faces Cages 2, 3, and 4. Cage 1, which plaintiff occupied, was off to the left. The volume of work in Cage 1 was less than that of the others. During the noon period when plaintiff occupied Cage 1, she frequently conducted insurance, mortgage loans and other business. She received numerous telephone calls which required her to leave the cage and go to her desk in the front office located about thirty feet from Cage 1. Plaintiff received more business telephone calls than any other employee in the bank. Including the many interruptions the plaintiff customarily worked in the teller's cage for an hour to an hour and a half on each day except Saturday. After the bank closed at 2:00 P.M. on about 50% of the days plaintiff "balanced" the cage. This ordinarily took ten or fifteen minutes, but sometimes as long as half an hour. Occasionally, plaintiff did some teller work on Saturdays.

In August, 1941, plaintiff's salary was $130.00 per month; in 1942 it was increased to $150.00 and then $160.00; in 1943 it was increased to $185.00; after March 11, 1944, it was increased to $200.00; in 1945 to $225.00; and in 1946 to $250.00. Although plaintiff had no schooling beyond a high school education, she was a woman of unusual business ability and willingly accepted and competently performed the responsibilities assigned to her.

Defendant pleaded and strongly urges that plaintiff is estopped to deny she acted in an administrative or executive capacity. Plaintiff took a leave of absence in May and June, 1944, during which period defendant paid her salary in full. She was absent because of illness for the entire year of 1946, and defendant likewise paid her salary in full for that period. Although she worked only part-time during the first half of 1947, and was discharged on July 8 of that year, defendant again paid her salary in full for the entire year of 1947.

From 1940 to July 8, 1947, the defendant bank did not keep a record of plaintiff's overtime and plaintiff knew it. During such period plaintiff never suggested or asked that a record of her overtime be kept, nor indicated in any manner that she regarded herself as an employee entitled to the benefits of the act. About March 24, 1942, a Miss Nellen, representing the Wage and Hour Division of the War Labor Board, called at the bank to inspect its records. Plaintiff informed Miss Nellen that she was an executive...