King v. State
| Decision Date | 21 July 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. S-98-1019., No. S-98-1009 |
| Citation | 260 Neb. 14,614 N.W.2d 341 |
| Parties | Douglas KING et al., appellants, v. STATE of Nebraska, appellee. Kathryn E. Carrigan, Personal Representative of the Estate of John G. Carrigan, deceased, appellant, v. State of Nebraska, appellee. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
James D. McFarland, of McFarland Law Office, and Vincent Valentino, of Angle, Murphy, Valentino & Campbell, P.C., York, for appellants Douglas King et al. and Kathryn E. Carrigan.
Don Stenberg, Attorney General, and John R. Thompson for appellee.
Douglas King, together with other Nebraska State Patrol employees (the troopers), filed a lawsuit against the State of Nebraska alleging that the State's overtime policy violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (1994). In a separate lawsuit, John G. Carrigan, a corrections lieutenant in the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (Department), similarly claimed that the State's overtime policy violated the FLSA. The troopers and Carrigan (hereinafter collectively the appellants) moved for partial summary judgment, asking that the district court find in their favor on the issue of the State's liability and that the State's policies are willful violations of the FLSA. Carrigan also requested that the court find in his favor on the issue of whether he is an exempt employee under the FLSA.
The district court for Lancaster County denied the appellants' motions for partial summary judgment and dismissed their respective petitions for lack of jurisdiction based on the State's sovereign immunity. These appeals followed and have been consolidated for disposition. The question presented is whether the State has waived its sovereign immunity in suits brought to invalidate certain contractual provisions as violative of the FLSA. We hold that the State has not waived its sovereign immunity in the instant cases and, therefore, dismiss the appeals for lack of jurisdiction.
Appellant King and all other named plaintiffs in his suit are Nebraska State Patrol employees. In their first petition of December 10, 1996, the troopers alleged that State Patrol troopers were required to work overtime and that the State provided them with compensatory time off for overtime work instead of cash overtime pay. The troopers further alleged that to keep compensatory time balances at a minimum, the State would unilaterally schedule time off for the troopers if the troopers themselves did not do so. The troopers alleged that as a result, compensatory time balances were reduced by the State's requiring involuntary use of compensatory time without monetary compensation. Additionally, the troopers claimed that for one or more of the troopers, the State would set off overtime hours worked against compensatory time used at the rate of an hour and a half compensatory time for each hour of overtime worked during the same pay period. As a result, the troopers' compensatory time banks were not increased even though they worked overtime without monetary compensation.
Further, the troopers alleged that three of the troopers were promoted within the last 3 years to the rank of lieutenant and were informed that they would be ineligible for overtime pay or for a compensatory time bank of accrued overtime. The troopers claimed that the State directed these three troopers to use all of their earned compensatory time banks within 1 year of their promotion or lose this earned time.
The troopers asserted that the State's unilateral policy of forcing them to use compensatory time violated 29 U.S.C. §§ 206 and 207. They alleged that the failure to compensate them for the forced use of compensatory time was a willful violation of these sections within the scope of 29 U.S.C § 255(a) (1994).
The troopers prayed for damages in the form of backpay for the prior 3 years, injunctive relief to enjoin the State from requiring the employees to schedule compensatory time off, liquidated damages equal to the amount of any backpay awarded, costs, attorney fees, and prejudgment interest. Additionally, the troopers asked the court to declare that the State's policies are unlawful and constitute a willful violation of 29 U.S.C. §§ 206 and 207 and that the lieutenants are eligible to earn overtime compensation.
The State filed a demurrer on December 16, 1996, asserting that the court lacked jurisdiction over the State or over the subject matter, since the State had not waived its sovereign immunity, that there was a defect of party defendant, and that the petition did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. The district court overruled this demurrer on February 7, 1997, determining that the subject matter of the suit was an employment relationship between the troopers and the State, which was a contractual matter. The court concluded that the State had waived its sovereign immunity for actions arising from a contract, citing Neb.Rev. Stat. § 25-21,206 (Reissue 1995), and Hoiengs v. County of Adams, 245 Neb. 877, 516 N.W.2d 223 (1994).
The troopers amended their petition, with a few significant changes. Specifically, one individual was added to the list of troopers who were promoted to the rank of lieutenant and subject to the State's overtime policies. The troopers also alleged that § 10.5 of the labor contract between the State and the State Law Enforcement Bargaining Council, which governed the use of compensatory time, is null and void as violative of 29 U.S.C. §§ 206 and 207. The troopers also alleged that the State had retaliated and discriminated against several of them by taking actions in conjunction with its policies and procedures which denied these troopers the opportunity to work overtime, including regularly scheduled hours on holidays, in violation of 29 U.S.C. §§ 215(a)(3) and 216(b). In the troopers' prayer for relief, they requested that the court declare § 10.5 of the labor contract null and void as being in violation of federal laws, including 29 U.S.C. §§ 206 and 207.
Appellant Carrigan was employed by the Department as a corrections lieutenant at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women in York. Carrigan died during the pendency of this appeal, and his personal representative was substituted as the appellant. Similarly to the troopers, Carrigan alleged that he was required to work overtime and that the State provided him with compensatory time off for overtime work performed instead of cash overtime pay. To keep the compensatory time bank balances at a minimum, the State would unilaterally schedule time off for Carrigan if he did not do so, or would unilaterally decrease his compensatory time bank balance. As a result, Carrigan alleged that his compensatory time balance was reduced by the State, requiring involuntary use of compensatory time without monetary compensation, which he alleged was a violation of 29 U.S.C. §§ 206 and 207 and was a willful violation of these sections within the scope of 29 U.S.C. § 255(a). Carrigan prayed for damages in the form of backpay for the prior 3 years, injunctive relief to enjoin the State from requiring him to schedule compensatory time off, a declaration that the State's policies are unlawful and constitute willful violations, liquidated damages equal to the amount of any backpay awarded, costs, attorney fees, and prejudgment interest.
On January 3, 1997, the State filed a demurrer to Carrigan's petition, reiterating the grounds upon which it based its demurrer to the troopers' petition. This demurrer was also overruled on February 7, as part of the same order overruling the demurrer to the troopers' petition.
The appellants moved for partial summary judgment on March 24, 1998. These motions sought an order in their favor on the issue of liability. On August 27, the district court overruled the motions for partial summary judgment and dismissed the appellants' petitions. The district court stated that its prior rulings on the State's demurrers were incorrect and that these actions seeking to subject the State to the FLSA provisions are barred by sovereign immunity. The district court reasoned:
The appellants timely appealed the dismissal of their petitions and the overruling of their motions for partial summary judgment.
The appellants filed a motion to consolidate their appeals, which was granted. We then granted the appellants' petition to bypass the Nebraska Court of Appeals.
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