Reid v. United States
| Decision Date | 14 June 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 17-205C,17-205C |
| Parties | CURTIS P. REID, Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. |
| Court | Court of Federal Claims |
Civilian Pay; RCFC 56; Civilian Marine Personnel Instructions; 5 U.S.C. § 5348; 46 U.S.C. § 10313.
Cain Denny, Counsel of Record, Cain Denny, PA, Charleston, SC, for plaintiff.
Sean L. King, Trial Attorney, Steven J. Gillingham, Assistant Director, Robert E. Kirschman, Jr., Director, Joseph A. Hunt, Assistant Attorney General, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC; Patricia Reddy-Parkinson, Of Counsel, United States Military Sealift Command, Washington, DC, for defendant.
In this civilian pay action, plaintiff, Curtis P. Reid, seeks to recover alleged unpaid wages and monetary damages from the government in connection with his employment as a federal civilian employee serving aboard a public vessel of the United States. See generally Am. Compl. The government has moved to dismiss Counts II and IV of the amended complaint upon the grounds that: (1) the Court does not possess subject-matter jurisdiction to consider plaintiff's quantum meruit claim and (2) the Tucker Act's waiver of the government's sovereign immunity does not extend to the punitive damages provided for pursuant to 46 U.S.C. § 10313(g). Id. at 28-29, 32-33. The parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the issues of: (1) whether plaintiff was assigned to the position of a Wiper and, thus, entitled to receive pay as a Wiper; (2) whether plaintiff is entitled to recover unpaid wages pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 5348(a); and (3) whether plaintiff is entitled to recover unpaid wages pursuant to 46 U.S.C. § 10313. See generally Pl. Mot.; Def. Mot. Lastly, the government has also moved for summary judgment in its favor on the issue of whether the government's involuntary deductions of plaintiff's pay constitute a takings in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Def. Mot. at 33-34.
For the reasons set forth below, the Court: (1) GRANTS-IN-PART the government's motion to dismiss; (2) DENIES plaintiff's motion for summary judgment; (3) GRANTS the government's cross-motion for summary judgment with regards to Counts I, II, III, and V of the amended complaint; and (4) DISMISSES the amended complaint.
Plaintiff, Curtis P. Reid, served as a federal civilian employee aboard the United States Naval Ship Charles Drew (the "USNS Drew")—a public vessel of the United States under the control of the United States Navy ("Navy"), Military Sealift Command (the "MSC"). Am. Compl. at ¶ 2. In this civilian pay action, plaintiff seeks to recover alleged unpaid wages and monetary damages from the government in connection with his deployment aboard the USNS Drew. Id. at ¶ 8. It is undisputed that plaintiff performed the duties of a Wiper during this deployment.2 Id.; Def. Mot. at 4.
Specifically, plaintiff alleges that the MSC improperly compensated him at the prevailing rate of pay for the position of a Supply Utilityman, rather than at the prevailing rate of pay for the position of a Wiper, during this deployment. Am. Compl. at ¶ 16; see also id. at ¶ 13. Plaintiff also alleges that the MSC's cause to involuntarily deduct his pay—due to an overpayment of overtime pay—was insufficient. Id. at ¶ 16. And so, plaintiff contends that he is entitled to recover, among other things, unpaid wages and punitive damages from the government. Id. at ¶ 21; see also id. at Prayer for Relief.
As background, the MSC is the leading provider of ocean transportation for the Navy and the Department of Defense. Def. Mot. at 3. The MSC workforce consists of approximately 5,600 personnel, known as civil service mariners ("CIVMAR"), who are federal civilian employees that serve primarily at sea aboard non-combatant Navy ships. Def. App'x at 1 (Declaration of Andrew Kallgren); see also Def. Mot. at 3.
On October 12, 2010, the MSC appointed plaintiff to a CIVMAR position as a C848 Supply Utilityman assigned to the East Coast, with a base salary of $24,188. Def. App'x at 14 (SF-50, dated Oct. 12, 2010). A Supply Utilityman is an entry-level position in a ship's steward or supply department that involves hotel services work, food handling, and sanitation of the ship. Id. at 15-16 (Supply Utilityman Job Description); see also Def. Mot. at 3.
On April 30, 2012, a senior marine placement specialist recommended that plaintiff be assigned to the USNS Drew "as relief to fill [the] vacant WIPER BILLET" position. Pl. Mot. at Ex. 1 (MSC E-Mail, dated April 30, 2012). The e-mail regarding this assignment states that "WIPER Reid is on a TEMP PROM to WIPER (363) for this assignment." Id.
On May 3, 2012, plaintiff was assigned to the USNS Drew. Def. App'x at 19 (SF-50, dated May 3, 2012). Plaintiff's assignment to the USNS Drew is recorded in a Standard Form 50 ("SF-50"), dated May 3, 2012, which states that the nature of the action is a "reassignment" and that the "CIVMAR [is] performing duties of 8363 Wiper." Id. The SF-50 also states that the specified amounts of plaintiff's basic pay and locality adjustment "reflect permanent salary which is higher than ship's salary." Id.
The basic pay for a Wiper on a ship like the USNS Drew is $34,858.00, with an overtime pay rate of $25.98 per hour. Id. at 25 (Pacific Schedule of Wages). In contrast, the basic pay for a Supply Utilityman on the same ship is $35,719.00, with an overtime pay rate of $12.20 per hour. Id. at 27 (Pacific Schedule of Wages). And so, while a Supply Utilityman receives a higher base rate of pay than a Wiper, the overtime rate of pay for a Supply Utilityman is lower than the overtime rate of pay for a Wiper.
On May 6, 2012, plaintiff reported to the USNS Drew for deployment. Id. at 30 (OPA, dated May 6, 2012). Upon his arrival, the ship generated an Outport Personnel Action ("OPA") message, stating that plaintiff's duty status is the position of a Wiper, effective May 3, 2012. Id.This message was sent to the MSC's payroll department for processing. Id. at 30, 32-33 (Declaration of Dorothy Abreu).
When plaintiff returned from this deployment on September 4, 2012, the USNS Drew generated another OPA message stating that plaintiff's duty status was the position of Wiper while deployed aboard the ship. Id. at 34 (OPA, dated Sept. 4, 2012). This message was also sent to the MSC's payroll department. Id. On March 29, 2013, the master of the USNS Drew sent a sea service letter that confirmed plaintiff's deployment dates and that stated that plaintiff was a Wiper while serving on the USNS Drew. Pl. Mot. at Ex. 6 (Sea Service Letter, dated March 29, 2013).
A CIVMAR's terms and conditions of employment are governed by the Civilian Marine Personnel Instructions ("CMPI") and the Navy's personnel policies. Def. App'x at 6 (Declaration of James Shine). The CMPI implements 5 U.S.C. § 301 and 5 U.S.C. § 302. Id. at 100 (CMPI 1.1-1). Specifically, Section 301 provides that:
The head of an Executive department or military department may prescribe regulations for the government of his department, the conduct of its employees, the distribution and performance of its business, and the custody, use, and preservation of its records, papers, and property.
5 U.S.C. § 301. Section 302 further provides that:
5 U.S.C. § 302(b)(1). And so, the CMPI applies to all CIVMARs and these regulations define and regulate the terms and conditions of employment for CIVMARs. Def. App'x at 100 (CMPI 1.1-.2).
Specifically relevant to this case, CMPI 330 "governs the recruitment, evaluation and selection of civil service marine employees for appointment, conversion to an appointment, promotion and reassignment." Id. at 216 (CMPI 330.1-1). This regulation defines "base rate of pay" as "[t]he authorized minimum cash compensation without special pay benefits, expressed as an annual rate of pay for MSC civil service marine positions." Id. at 217 (CMPI 330.1-5).CMPI 330 also defines a "reassignment" as a "[p]ersonnel action taken to place an employee in a different position (rating) without a change to the base rate of pay." Id. at 219 (CMPI 330.1-5).
CMPI 531, entitled Wage Administration, implements 5 U.S.C. § 5348(a), which provides that the compensation of officers and crews of vessels shall be fixed and adjusted from time to time, as nearly as is consistent with the public interest. Id. at 107 (CMPI 531.1-2). This regulation provides that Id. at 110 (CMPI 531.3-1(d)). The regulation also provides that authorized pay rates are available to all CIVMAR positions including: (1) permanent positions, (2) one-voyage only positions, (3) interim positions, and (4) temporary positions. Id. at 111 (CMPI 531.4-1(a)). In addition, CMPI 531 provides that "[t]he marine employee officially assigned to an authorized position is entitled to only the corresponding wages for that position found in the appropriate schedule of wages, except as indicated in CMPI 610.1-8.c." Id. at 112 (CMPI 531.4-3(b)).
CMPI 610, entitled Hours of Work and Premium Pay, also implements 5 U.S.C. § 5348 and this regulation Id. at 118 (CMPI 610.1-1, 1-2). In this regard, CMPI 610 provides that:
It is the policy of...
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