Richardson v. All. Residential Co.

Decision Date04 February 2020
Docket NumberCivil Action No. ELH-18-1114
PartiesCHRISTINA RICHARDSON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. ALLIANCE RESIDENTIAL COMPANY, Defendant.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Maryland
MEMORANDUM OPINION

In this wage and hour case, plaintiffs Christina Richardson and Gordon Clark filed suit against their former employer, Alliance Residential Company ("Alliance" or the "Company"), alleging that Alliance failed to compensate them for overtime work during a portion of their employment, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.; the Maryland Wage and Hour Law, Md. Code (2016 Repl. Vol., 2017 Supp.), § 3-401 et seq. of the Labor & Employment Article ("L.E.") ("MWHL"); and the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law, L.E. § 3-501 et seq. ("MWPCL"). ECF 1 (the "Complaint"). In addition to unpaid overtime wages, plaintiffs seek treble damages, interest, attorneys' fees, and costs.

Following discovery, plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment on their FLSA and MWLH claims. ECF 28.1 The motion is supported by a memorandum of law (ECF 28-1 at 1-19) (collectively the "Motion"), and numerous exhibits. ECF 28-1 at 20-120; ECF 28-2; ECF 28-3;ECF 30-1; ECF 31-1.2 Alliance opposes the Motion (ECF 34, the "Opposition") and has submitted seven exhibits. ECF 36-1 to ECF 36-7. Plaintiffs have replied. ECF 39.

The Motion has been fully briefed, and no hearing is necessary to resolve it. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, I shall deny the Motion.

I. Factual Background

Alliance, a limited liability corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona, owns and manages residential and commercial properties. See ECF 3 (Answer), ¶ 3; see also Our Company, ALLIANCE RESIDENTIAL COMPANY, http://www.allresco.com/ (last visited Jan. 23, 2020). The Company provides management services to an 82-unit apartment building located at 222 East Saratoga Street in Baltimore (the "Property"). ECF 3, ¶ 4. Each Alliance property is overseen by an on-site "business manager," who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the property, including marketing and leasing, collecting rent, managing on-site staff, and interfacing with residents. ECF 28-1 (Elizabeth Karl Deposition) at 23, Tr. 7, 9. Generally, the business manager reports to a "regional manager," who, in turn, is supervised by a "regional vice president." Id. at 23, Tr. 7.

On April 18, 2016, Alliance hired Ms. Richardson to serve as the Property's business manager. ECF 28-1 (Richardson Answers to Interrogatories) at 60, No. 2. When Ms. Richardson began working at Alliance, she was directly supervised by regional vice president Elizabeth Karl, because the Company had no regional manager. ECF 28-1 at 23, Tr. 8. Ms. Richardson reported to Ms. Karl from April 2016 to December 2016. Id. Alliance hired Sarah Malone as a regional manager in December 2016. Id. Thereafter, Ms. Richardson reported to Ms. Malone until Ms. Richardson left Alliance in November 2017. Id.; see also ECF 28-1 at 60, No. 2.

Mr. Clark worked as the Property's on-site service supervisor from approximately October 2016 to October 2017. ECF 28-1 (Clark Answers to Interrogatories) at 71, No. 2; see also ECF 28-3 (Clark Deposition) at 110, Tr. 12; id. at 115, Tr. 32. Ms. Richardson supervised Mr. Clark for the entirety of his employment. ECF 28-1 (Alliance Admissions) at 82, No. 6; see also ECF 28-1 at 25, Tr. 16.

Both Ms. Richardson and Mr. Clark were employed as hourly workers, subject to the FLSA's overtime wage requirements. ECF 28-1 at 81, No. 2. Between February 2017 and November 2017, Ms. Richardson's regular rate of pay was $28.59 per hour. Id. at 83, No. 10. Mr. Clark was paid $24.00 per hour between October 2016 and June 16, 2017, and $24.96 per hour from June 16, 2017 to October 2017. Id. at 83, No. 10-11. In addition, Mr. Clark received a $168.50 monthly housing subsidy to reside at the Property. See ECF 28-1 (Clark Earnings Statements) at 87-119.

Ms. Richardson was regularly scheduled to work Monday through Saturday. ECF 28-2 at 15, Tr. 54-55. She was scheduled to work 40 regular hours between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. during the week and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Id. Mr. Clark's regular hours were Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ECF 29-1 (Clark Deposition) at 4, Tr. 67.3 Alliance anticipated that Ms. Richardson and Mr. Clark would occasionally need to work additional hours beyond their regular schedule. ECF 28-2 (Malone Deposition) at 120; ECF 28-3 at 1, 4-6.

When Ms. Richardson and Mr. Clark were hired, Alliance provided them with a copy of its Associate Handbook (the "Handbook"). ECF 28-2 at 6, Tr. 20-21; ECF 29-1 at 3-4, Tr. 65-66.Plaintiffs agreed to read the Handbook and become familiar with its provisions. Id. The Handbook advised employees that federal and state law required accurate timekeeping, and that Alliance had implemented timekeeping procedures for employees to record and submit accurate time records. See ECF 36-1 (Alliance Handbook) at 27. The Handbook stated, in part, id.:

Accurate Time. Accurately recording time worked is the responsibility of every Associate. Federal and state laws require the Company to keep an accurate record of time worked in order to calculate Associate pay and benefits. Time worked is all the time actually spent on the job performing assigned duties. Associates are expected to regularly arrive at work on time, ready to work. Associates will be disciplined for excessive and/or unexcused absences. Non-exempt Associates should accurately record the time they begin and end their work, as well as the beginning and ending time of each meal period. They also should record the beginning and ending time of any split shift or departure from work for personal reasons.

Further, the Handbook contained an "electronic devices" policy. Id. at 32-33. In part, it advised, id.:

Non-Exempt After Hours Work Policy: For those Associates who are given an iPhone/Blackberry for business purposes, there is to be a balance between your work and family life. Alliance does not expect you to answer emails and business related calls at all hours of the day or to use the devices outside of regular business hours other than for occasional business purposes. This device is given to you primarily for business purposes during regular working hours and should be treated as such.
For those Associates who personally choose to set up their work email to go to their personal cell phones, please realize that this is your own choice and that you are responsible for all payments in connection with such devices.
For those non-exempt Associates who use a company laptop and/or personal/Company cell phone for business purposes, you are required to record on an overtime log sheet all time you spend outside your regular work schedule on business related e-mails and calls. That time must be timely submitted with payroll.
If you are a non-exempt Associate and find that you are required to do more than occasional work outside your scheduled hours, you must advise your manager and the People Office. You must obtain their approval for continued use of your device for business purposes after hours.

And, the Handbook contained a section titled "OVERTIME PAY FOR NON-EXEMPT ASSOCIATES." Id. at 57 (emphasis in original). The section provided, id.:

a. Prior Approval. Non-exempt Associates may be required to work overtime at their Supervisor's request. All overtime requires the prior approval of the Associate's Supervisor or Manager. Associates who work overtime without prior approval will be paid in accordance with the law, however, may be subject to disciplinary action up to and included termination for violating the prior approval requirement.
b. Record All Hours Worked. If your position is classified as non-exempt, you must record all hours worked. Working off the clock is prohibited, and no manager has the authority to require any Associate to do so. Any Associate who works off the clock or any manager that requests an Associate work off the clock may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
c. Miscellaneous. To respect each Associate's personal schedule, every effort will be made to minimize unwanted overtime. However, business demands are such that overtime may be required as a condition of employment. The company pays overtime in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. "Hours worked" does not include paid time off for holidays, vacation, illness, inclement weather, jury duty or bereavement.

To assist Ms. Richardson and Mr. Clark track their hours, Alliance provided them with laptops that were installed with a timekeeping application. See ECF 28-2 at 6, Tr. 18-19; id. at 8, Tr. 26-27; ECF 29-1 at 6, Tr. 75. If Ms. Richardson or Mr. Clark forgot to record their hours on the computerized timekeeping application, they could utilize a "Time Clock Correction Form" to capture time spent working. See ECF 36-3 (Richardson Time Correction Forms); ECF 36-5 (Clark Time Correction Forms); see also ECF 28-2 at 8, Tr. 28-29; id. at 32, Tr. 125; ECF 28-3 (Malone Deposition) at 22, 35; ECF 29-1 at 12, Tr. 99-100. Throughout their time at Alliance, Mr. Richardson and Ms. Clark regularly tracked their hours using the timekeeping software and Time Clock Correction Forms. See ECF 36-2 (Richardson Timekeeping Records); ECF 36-4 (Clark Timekeeping Records); see also ECF 36-3; ECF 36-5.

As noted, Ms. Richardson reported directly to Ms. Karl between April 2016 and December 2016. Ms. Richardson and Ms. Karl never spoke about overtime or performing off-the-clock work. ECF 28-2 at 6, Tr. 19. Nor did Ms. Karl require Ms. Richardson to seek advanced approval before working overtime. Id. at 12, Tr. 44. Ms. Richardson testified during her deposition that while working for Ms. Karl, she accurately recorded her hours and was paid for all hours recorded. See id. at 16, Tr. 58. Ms. Richardson's biweekly earning statements reflect that she averaged 39.92...

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