Margulies v. Tri-County Metro. Transp. Dist. of Or.
| Decision Date | 30 June 2015 |
| Docket Number | 3:13-cv-00475-PK |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Oregon |
| Parties | ALLEN MARGULIES et al., Plaintiffs, v. TRI-COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT OF OREGON, Defendant. |
Plaintiffs filed this putative class action against defendant Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon ("TriMet"), alleging that TriMet engages in a pattern or practice of failing to pay its bus and train operators for all compensable work in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and Oregon law. Now before the court are TriMet's "Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to All State Law Claims" ("State Law MPSJ") (#146)and "Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to Max Operators' FLSA Overtime Claims" ("FLSA MPSJ") (#153). For the reasons discussed below, TriMet's State Law MPSJ is denied and its FLSA MPSJ is denied in part and granted in part.
On December 19, 2012, named plaintiff Allen Margulies sent a letter to TriMet, indicating that he intended to file a lawsuit "on behalf of all current employees and former employees of TriMet" due to TriMet's alleged failure to compensate its employees for all hours worked and its alleged failure to pay overtime wages. Ex. A, Declaration of Joel B. Young ("Young Decl."), #124-1, at 1. The caption of the letter states that it is a notice of a class action pursuant to Oregon Rule of Civil Procedure 32H. Id. On January 14, 2013, named plaintiffs Stephen Fung and Christopher Day also sent TriMet a notice of intent to file a class action "on behalf of all current and former employees of TriMet." Ex. C, Young Decl., #124-1, at 1. Like Margulies, Fung and Day also cited TriMet's alleged failure to fully compensate its employees as the basis of the class action. Id. On January 17, 2013, TriMet responded to both letters, stating that, as public employees, Margulies, Fung, and Day were subject to a collective bargaining agreement, which governed the wage issues raised in the letters. Ex. B, Young Decl., #124-1, at 1; Ex. D, Young Decl., #124-1, at 1.
Thereafter, on January 22, 2013, Margulies filed an action against TriMet in the Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleging various claims under the FLSA and Oregon law on behalf of himself and "all other similarly situated individuals currently and/or formerly employed by" TriMet. Ex. 3, Declaration of Jennifer Goodrich ("Goodrich Decl."), #122-3, at 1. On February 15, 2013, Margulies filed an amended complaint in the Multnomah County CircuitCourt, adding Day and John Olsen as named plaintiffs. Ex. 4, Goodrich Decl., #122-4, at 1. On February 21, 2013, TriMet was served with a copy of the complaint and the amended complaint. Ex. 5, Goodrich Decl., #122-5, at 1-3.
On February 25, 2013, Fung and Day sent TriMet a second notice of their intent to file a class action, again citing TriMet's alleged failure to fully compensate its employees as the basis of the suit. Ex. E, Young Decl., #124-1, at 1. TriMet responded on March 14, 2013, noting that Fung and Day's claims were already included in the action filed in the Multnomah County Circuit Court and again stating that, as public employees, Fung and Day were subject to the collective bargaining agreement, which governed the wage issues raised in their letter. Ex. F, Young Decl., #124-1, at 1. Fung sent yet another notice on May 29, 2013. Ex. G, Young Decl., #124-1, at 1. TriMet again responded that Fung's claims were part of the pending lawsuit and, in any case, the applicable collective bargaining agreement governed the wage issues raised in Fung's letter. Ex. H, Young Decl., #124-1, at 1.
Meanwhile, on March 20, 2013, TriMet removed the Multnomah County case to this court on the basis of federal-question and supplemental jurisdiction. Notice of Removal, #1, at 1-3. On June 17, 2013, plaintiffs filed their second amended complaint. In their second amended complaint, plaintiffs allege that TriMet fails to pay bus and train operators for: "(1) non-commute travel time between disparate start and end points of operators' scheduled runs, (2) the differential between scheduled run times and actual run times, (3) pre-departure time, (4) mandatory meetings with supervisors, (5) mandatory medical examinations, and [(6)] any applicable overtime due for such compensable time." Second Amended Complaint, #18, ¶ 4.
On October 10, 2013, this court granted TriMet's motion for partial summary judgmentand dismissed plaintiff-bus drivers' FLSA claims. October 10, 2013, Opinion and Order, #61, at 40. The court also granted plaintiffs' motion to conditionally certify the action as a representative collective action under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) and set a deadline of January 27, 2014, for collecting consent-to-join forms. Id. As of this date, 458 plaintiffs have opted to join the action, including the four named plaintiffs.1
On September 8, 2014, this court granted in part TriMet's motion for partial summary judgment on all of plaintiffs' state law claims due to sixty-five plaintiffs' failure to provide timely notice under the OTCA. September 9, 2014, Opinion and Order, #136. The court, however, denied TriMet's motion as it applied to twenty-eight plaintiffs.
TriMet filed the State Law MPSJ (#146) on December 31, 2014, seeking summary judgment on plaintiffs' state law claims for violation of Oregon's minimum wage and overtime statutes under ORS 653.268. On January 28, 2015, plaintiffs filed their resistance (#156). On February 27, 2015, TriMet filed its reply (#161). On February 24, 2015, this court granted plaintiffs' Motion for Order to Allow Sur-Reply (#164). On March 4, 2015, plaintiffs filed their sur-reply (#165).
TriMet filed the FLSA MPSJ (#153) on January 23, 2015, seeking summary judgment on plaintiffs' claim alleging TriMet's failure to pay overtime wages to MAX operators in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1). On March 4, 2015, plaintiffs filed their resistance (#166). On March 23, 2015, TriMet filed its reply (#180). On April 1, 2015, thiscourt denied (#185) plaintiffs' contested Motion to Allow Sur-Reply (#183).2
The court heard oral argument on both of TriMet's motions on April 14, 2015. Following oral argument, Plaintiffs filed a statement regarding supplemental authority offered by TriMet during the proceedings (#189). On April 16, 2015, TriMet moved to strike Plaintiffs' statement (#189). The matter is fully submitted and ready for decision.
TriMet operates and provides public transportation services throughout Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties. TriMet manages various bus and train routes, schedules, and working conditions for its employees. Zatarain Depo., Young Decl., #157, Ex. A, 106:1. The employment of TriMet's various operators is guided by the Working and Wage Agreement ("WWA").4 Lomax Decl., #148, Ex. 1 ("WWA, #148-1"). Under the WWA, TriMet operators are paid a normal hourly rate and time and one-half of their regular pay rate for all overtimeworked, which consists of all work over eight hours per regular work day as well as work over forty hours per week, unless otherwise specified in the WWA. #148-1, Art. 1, § 6, ¶ 1.
On a day-to-day basis, TriMet uses Hastus, a computer software system, to schedule its routes of operation and calculate pay amounts for its operators. Zatarain Depo., Young Decl., #157, Ex. A, 25:25. The route assignments themselves are contained within collective documents called "Run Listings" that determine driving time, report time, and clear time. Id. at 25:25. These determinations are used to formulate the calculation for total pay for an operator's daily assignment. Lomax Depo., Young Decl., #157, Ex. B, 25:25. TriMet bus operators are paid daily between $1.75 and $2.50 in "road relief" when they work an assignment ending in a location that differs from its starting point. WWA, #148-1, Art. 2, § 1, ¶ 2g. TriMet rail operators are paid between $3.50 and $15.00 in "road relief." WWA, #148-1, Art. 2, § 9, ¶ 11a. TriMet does not consider "road relief" compensation for time worked. WWA, #148-1, Art. 2, § 1, ¶ 2b.
Per the WWA, in instances where a bus or MAX train arrives late to its relief point, the relief bus or MAX operator takes over operation of the vehicle at that time and is paid based on the scheduled run rather than the late start. WWA, #148-1, Art. 2, § 1, ¶ 2b.
Approximately once every three months, all operators submit bids to work various scheduled run assignments that are awarded on the basis of seniority. Lomax Decl., #148, ¶¶ 10-11. Run assignments are posted at TriMet's garages and rail yards to allow for the operators to become aware of their details before submitting bids. After bidding concludes, operators are aware of their scheduled work assignments for the upcoming quarter. Id. at ¶ 11.
On their routes, operators begin at one point and end at another, purportedly requiringthem to engage in "non-commute" travel time between those points once a scheduled run ends. Olsen Decl., #43. Operators who commute to work from their home must travel from their "end-shift point" by another means of transportation to the point at which they began their route, called their "start-shift" point, in order to recover their personal vehicle or begin their commute back to their home. Zatarain Depo., Young Decl., #157, Ex. A, 44-47:20. This travel time, called "Start-End Travel Time," is not considered ordinary commute travel and exists only as a product of TriMet's route and scheduling practices for the convenience and cost efficiency of TriMet. Id.
If time between two parts of a "split run" amounts to not more than one hour, a TriMet operator is automatically paid for the time between the two parts. WWA, #148-1, Art. 2, § 1, ¶ 2f. If, on the other hand, that time amounts to more than one hour, the time is considered unpaid break time. WWA, #148-1, Art. 2, § 1, ¶ 5a. Although not specifically articulated in the WWA,...
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