Kitchings v. Fla United Methodist Children's Home
| Decision Date | 18 May 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 604CV127ORL31JGG.,604CV127ORL31JGG. |
| Citation | 393 F.Supp.2d 1282 |
| Parties | Gary KITCHINGS, Oscar Palau, Sandra L. Johnson, Carl Johnson, James B. Wagner, Mary E. Wagner, Rosetta Jones, Josefina Palau, Albert Jones, Lorraine L. Wonderley, Cheryl Sanders, Stephen R. Sanders, Sophronia W. Hummel John D. Hummel, Monique Palau, Odalys Kitchings, Gary A. Wonderley, Jack A. Marshall, Jean A. Marshall, Anthony Della Monica, Teresa Della Monica, Pamela S. Shaver, Charles S. Shaver, Jon P. Donahue, Michelle R. Donahue, Oscar Antonio Palau, Kimball Green & Julie Green on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated employees, Plaintiffs, v. THE FLORIDA UNITED METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida |
Charles L. Scalise, Konstatine E. Pantas, Pantas Law Firm, Orlando, FL, for Plaintiffs.
Alysa J. Ward, Mark A. Hanley, Glenn, Rasmussen, Fogarty & Hooker, PA, Tampa, FL, for Defendants.
James G. Brown, Ford & Harrison LLP, Orlando, FL, pro se.
This case arises out of a dispute over whether the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. (the "FLSA"), entitles the Plaintiffs to overtime compensation for work performed while in the Defendant's employ. This matter comes before the Court on the Defendant, The Florida United Methodist Children's Home, Inc.'s (the "Defendant") Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 103), the Plaintiffs' Response thereto (Doc. 115), and the Defendant's Reply (Doc. 119).
Gary Kitchings ("Kitchings") is a resident of Seminole County, Florida. He was employed by the Defendant as a houseparent from May 1999 until April 2003. Oscar Palau ("Palau") is also a resident of Seminole County. He was employed by the Defendant as a houseparent from March 2002 until October 2002, and then again beginning in March 2003, and was still employed by the Defendant at the time the Plaintiffs filed their Complaint (Doc. 1). Kitchings and Palau bring this action on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated employees and former employees of the Defendant, representing a class consisting of current and former houseparents employed by the Defendant who did not receive overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of forty hours per workweek.1
The Defendant is a Florida corporation that cares for dependent children at a facility in Volusia County, Florida.
The Children's Home is a religious not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing residential care and treatment for children between the ages of 5 and 18 who have been abused, neglected, or otherwise subjected to emotional damage. (Doc. 105, Att. 1, Affidavit of Alexander Carmichel, at 2). These are children who are unable to remain in their original homes due to emotional conflicts, adjustment problems, relationship disturbances, developmental delays, and issues associated with sexual, physical and emotional abuse. (Id.). The Children's Home is licensed to care for as many as eighty-eight children. (Id. at 3).
Children who are residents of the Children's Home ("Residents") come from the state of Florida, through both state placement, and, to a lesser extent, from private placement. (Doc. 105, Att. 1, Aff. of Alexander Carmichel, at 3). Children are placed via private placement when their parents or legal guardians are unable or unwilling to raise them, and this inability to reside with their natural parents or guardians is the primary reason for placement at the Children's Home. (Id.). Those children placed by the state are children that have been abandoned, are state-dependent, or are pre-delinquent. (Id.). Children placed by the state are actually placed by "community based care," from community-based agencies that cover specific geographic areas. (Doc. 116, Att. 4, Depo. of Alexander Carmichel, at 43-44). These agencies are private agencies that have contracts with the state to provide services and care to children in their area. (Id. at 44). Thus, when a child is in need, the agency might refer that child to the Children's Home. (Id.). Approximately fifty percent of the Residents are referred from community-based care. (Id. at 46).
Residents are cared for using the "house parent model." (Doc. 105, Att. 1, Aff. of Alexander Carmichel, at 3). The Children's Home has eleven cottages, each of which houses eight to ten Residents in age appropriate settings, under the supervision and care of a married couple acting as "houseparents." (Id.). Houseparents model family life, and support the Residents' development of meaningful relationships. (Id. at 5). Houseparents act in loco parentis, and provide a nurturing environment by playing a central role in all home, campus and extracurricular activities of the Residents in their care.3 (Id.). The houseparents provide transportation to school and extracurricular activities, provide for the Residents' nutritional needs, and ensure that the Residents' health needs are met. (Id.). The houseparents also participate in school and extracurricular activities, structure study time, and may attend parent-teacher conferences. (Id.). They also provide feedback to each Resident's therapist and caregivers regarding the effectiveness of the Resident's treatment plan.4 (Id.).
Houseparents may purchase clothing and other items for the Residents at local stores using the Children's Home's credit card. (Id. at 7). These goods are not purchased for re-sale to the Residents.5 (Id. at 8). The houseparents themselves do not produce goods. (Id.).6 Houseparents are authorized to use the internet only in order to help the Residents with their homework. (Id.).
Houseparents perform most of the cooking and participate in "general clean up." (Id. at 10). The Residents perform a variety of chores, including vacuuming and cleaning the general areas of the home, washing dishes, weeding, washing the cottage's vehicle, and taking out the trash. (Doc. 116, Att. 9, 10, Depo. of Alexander Carmichel, at 115, 116, 122). Houseparents may assist with laundry and in carrying groceries. (Id. at 122). However, most of their work is related to delivering the Children's Home's services via the house parent model.7 (Doc. 105, Att. 1, Aff. of Alexander Carmichel, at 10). While the Residents are at school or otherwise away from the Children's Home, houseparents are free to leave and to attend to personal matters, provided that their work is done. (Id. at 8, 9). Houseparents get at least five hours of sleep per night, and usually get between six and eight hours of sleep. (Id. at 9).
Houseparents perform most of their duties independently and without supervision. (Id.). Every employee of the Children's Home receives a Policy and Procedures Manual, which spells out in great detail what employees can and cannot do.8 (Doc. 116, Att. 7, 10, Depo. of Alexander Carmichel, at 87, 121). That Manual gives the houseparents parameters for such things as disciplinary action and for when Residents may receive or lose "points." (Id. at 122).
Houseparents receive an annual salary, which starts at approximately $20,000 per year. (Doc. 105, Att. 1, Aff. of Alexander Carmichel, at 8). Their normal schedule is one of "seven days on, seven days off," but if they work beyond that schedule, they are compensated for each day worked. (Id.). In general, houseparents wake between 6 and 6:45 a.m. to get the Residents ready for school, and take the Residents to school by 8:30 a.m. (Doc. 116, Att. 8, Depo. of Alexander Carmichel, at 100). Then, the houseparents are generally free (except for meetings on Tuesdays) to attend to personal matters until it is time to pick the Residents up from school at approximately 2:30 p.m. (Id. at 102, 111). After school, houseparents are at their cottages to help with chores, recreation, tutoring and fixing dinner, and to enforce "lights out" before 10 p.m., after which houseparents generally have about one half hour's worth of paperwork to do. (Id. at 102-3). In the summer they generally follow the same schedule, except that houseparents assist in providing lunch. (Id. at 103-4). Houseparents' daily schedules vary based on a number of factors, including Residents' illnesses, discipline issues, extracurricular activities, and conferences. (Doc. 105, Att. 1, Aff. of Alexander Carmichel, at 8-9). Thus the hours that houseparents work fluctuate from day to day, and from week to week. (Id. at 9).9
Because it is difficult to determine the number of hours houseparents work and which member of a married couple works more, it is the Children's Home's policy to pay each houseparent the same. (Id.). Upon becoming houseparents, a married couple signs an employment offer letter that outlines certain terms of their employment.10 (Id. at 8; see also Doc. 105, Att. 3, Ex. 9). Specifically, that letter indicates, inter alia, their annual rate of pay; the normal "seven days on and seven days off" schedule; and the fact that if they have to work beyond the normal schedule and if compensatory time off is not available, they will be compensated at a certain rate per day. (Doc. 105, Att.3, Ex. 9).
The Children's Home is not licensed as either a hospital or a mental care facility, and Residents are not admitted on the basis of mental health issues.11 (Doc. 105, Att. 1, Aff. of Alexander Carmichel, at 3). The primary reason for placement is that the child is unable to reside with their natural parents or guardians.12 (Id.). Most of the Residents, however, do have some form of psychological disorder, and many are on some form of medication.13 (Id.). If a child has a serious disorder, he or she will not be accepted for residency because the Children's Home is not equipped to deal with those children.14 (Id.). The stated goal of the Children's Home is "to heal the physical,...
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