Watkins v. United Needs & Abilities, Inc.
| Decision Date | 12 July 2021 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. RDB-20-0681 |
| Parties | ANDRE L. WATKINS, Plaintiff, v. UNITED NEEDS & ABILITIES, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
Plaintiff Andre L. Watkins ("Watkins" or "Plaintiff") brought this action against Defendant United Needs & Abilities Inc. ("UNA" or "Defendant") alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. ("FLSA"), the Maryland Wage and Hour Law, Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 3-401, et seq. ("MWHL"), and the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law, Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 3-501, et seq. ("MWPCL").1 Presently pending is the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 24). The parties' submissions have been reviewed, and no hearing is necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2021). For the reasons that follow, the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 24) is GRANTED. The Plaintiff's federal and state law claims fail as a matter of law as his time spent "waiting to be engaged," or alternatively "sleep time," is not compensable under either federal or state law.
In ruling on the pending motion for summary judgment, the Court reviews the facts and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 378 (2007); see also Hardwick ex rel. Hardwick v. Heyward, 711 F.3d 426, 433 (4th Cir. 2013). Defendant UNA is a designated 501(c)(3) charitable organization which serves individuals with developmental disabilities in all nine counties of Maryland's Eastern Shore. (ECF No. 24-1 at 1.) UNA provides residential, financial, vocational, educational, and recreational assistance to disabled individuals. (Id.) Around February 13, 2017, Plaintiff Watkins, a resident of Dorchester County, Maryland, was hired by Defendant UNA to work as a Residential Aide for the facility located at 104 Coulbourn Mill Road in Salisbury, Wicomico County, Maryland. (ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 1, 9; Dep. Andre Watkins, ECF No. 24-2 at 10.) This was not Watkins' first job in the residential care industry: Watkins had six years of experience working for a similar organization, Delmarva Community Services, where he was employed from 2005 to 2008 and again from 2013 to 2016. (ECF No. 24-2 at 17:19-18:6.)
During his first week with UNA, Watkins attended an orientation program during which he asserts he received a copy of the UNA employee handbook. (Id. at 12:19-22.) During that orientation, Watkins admits that he did not inquire about any particular policies and was not assigned to any specific shifts or work. (Id. at 12:9-14, 12:20.) When Watkins was hired, he understood that he would be paid at an hourly rate of $11.00 per hour and that he would receive paychecks every second Friday of each two-week pay period. (Id. at 10:7-12, 15:2-5.)
On or about May 15, 2017, Watkins was promoted to "House Manager" at the Coulbourn Mill facility, and his pay was increased to $12.29 per hour. (Id. at 10:7-12.) The Coulbourn Mill facility was a single-family house, which for most of the time Watkins workedthere had two residents: Louis and Jack. (Id. at 53:6-11, 56:2-7.) Louis was reportedly more independent, but Jack required assistance with nearly all daily activities. (Id. at 78:19-79:1, 80:13-81:6.) Watkins worked primarily with Louis, but overall care of the two clients from Monday to Friday was provided by Watkins and two other staff members: Daniel Coles ("Coles") and Mark Savage ("Savage"). (Id. at 56:9-12; 57:13-14; 63:18-64:2.)
As House Manager, Watkins was scheduled for 39 hours of work each week. (Id. at 31:17-32:9.) Each week Watkins would begin working at 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon. (Id. at 31:19-20.) At that time, Watkins would arrive at the facility and clock-in using a pass code entered via telephone call to a 1-800 number. (Id. at 59:21-60:5.) When he was done for the night around 11:00 p.m., he would clock out by calling the same number. (Id. at 31:19-20.) At that time, Savage, the designated "awake overnight" staff member, would clock in. (Id. at 57:13-14, 63:18-64:2.)
During the overnight period, Watkins could not leave the facility. (ECF No. 1 ¶ 11.) He was provided with a private bedroom with a television and cable and a separate private bathroom. (ECF No. 24-2 at 64:19-65:14.) Between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., Watkins was free to sleep, watch TV, play video games, shower, talk on the phone, attend to personal activities, and fix his own meals. (Id. at 66:4-67:3.) At 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, Watkins would clock back in and clock out again at 8:30 a.m., and he would then repeat roughly the same pattern starting at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon through Friday morning. (Id. at 61:21-13.) On Fridays, Watkins worked from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and once he clocked out at 8:30 a.m., he would be done with work until Monday and was free to leave the premises until his Monday shift began. (Id. at 32:6-9.)
Watkins was aware that as House Manager, he would be required to remain at the Coulbourn Mill house overnight four nights a week. (Id. at 64:3-15; ECF No. 1 ¶ 11.) He was also advised that he would not be paid for the hours between 11:00 p.m. and when he began his shift the next morning. (ECF No. 1 ¶ 11.) This was mostly true with some rare exceptions: if his primary client, Louis, needed assistance during the night, Savage would allegedly wake Watkins if he could not handle an overnight problem on his own. (Savage Affidavit, ECF No. 25-3 ¶ 15.) Watkins was informed that he could be paid for this time worked during the night. (Dep. Ronald Thorpe, ECF No. 24-3 at 45:9-16.) Watkins' supervisor from February 2018 to May 2019, Ronald Thorpe, explained:
[Watkins] was told that he could get paid for that. So if he worked with Louis for an hour he could get paid for an hour, but he would have to punch in and punch out. But if he didn't have to work with Louis, and Louis didn't wake up or anything, he was punching back in, I believe 6 a.m. in the morning, helping get Louis together and get him ready for the next day.
(Id. at 45:9-16.) In twenty-seven of the fifty-nine two-week payroll periods falling between February 24, 2017 and May 31, 2019, Watkins received some amounts of overtime pay. (ECF No. 24-6.) Time keeping records show that Watkins was earning some amount of overtime pay during the overnight shift approximately 15% of the time. (ECF No. 28-1.) However, it remains undisputed that Watkins was not generally compensated for his free time and sleeping time during the Monday to Friday workweek.
In April of 2019, Watkins traveled with Louis and other UNA staff members and clients on a five-day group trip to North Carolina. (ECF No. 24-2 at 34:22-35:8.) According to Watkins, he was asked to accompany Louis on this trip by his director Whitney Tilghman("Tilghman").2 (Id. at 36:22-37:20.) While on the trip, Watkins was tasked with ensuring that Louis received his medications and participated in trip activities. (Id.) He claims that he was not told how he would be compensated for this trip prior to his arrival in North Carolina. (Id. at 45:17-47:6.)
Upon his arrival in North Carolina, Watkins alleges that the was told to read and sign a form related to his compensation for the trip. (Id. at 39:3-13.) The form included a statement and a space for his signature. (ECF No. 25-4.) The statement read:
I have freely volunteered to participate in the United Needs & Abilities' Outer Banks trip from Monday, April 8 through Friday April 12, 2019. During the trip, I will work as needed to ensure that I will receive free meals, lodging, and amenities during the trip and that I will have the opportunity for free time as well. Because this trip is a work experience and a personal benefit to me, I agree that I will receive 40 hours of regular pay and no overtime pay for the trip.
(Id.) Watkins signed the form without asking any questions or raising any concerns. (ECF No. 24-2 at 45:17-47:6.) During the trip, Watkins participated in the group activities including shopping, shooting pool, and playing games. (Id. at 40:2-13.) Watkins was also provided meals. (Id. at 44:19-45:1.) He shared a room with Louis, and after Louis went to sleep, he was free to watch movies, play pool and ping-pong, and other activities. (Id. at 40:14-42:4.)
Watkins left his position at UNA sometime in May of 2019. (Id. at 10:5-6.) About a month prior to his departure, he was demoted from the House Manager position for reasons related to an alleged failure to order medication. (Id. at 68:16-69:2.) Watkins left UNA hoping to make use of a commercial driver's license he had obtained through training programs he attended on weekends while working at UNA. (Id. at 69:14-19.) He ultimately began workingfor a concrete company based on an application he submitted in February or March of 2019. (Id. at 71:16-19.)
As noted above, from February 2018 to May 2019, Watkins' direct supervisor was Thorpe. (Id. 19:12-16, 23:21-24-3.) Thorpe was Watkins' friend of nearly thirty years and had over two decades of experience in the residential care industry. (ECF No. 24-3 at 13:16-21.) He worked at Delmarva Community Services for about twenty years. (Id.) Watkins' mother had been the Chief Operating Officer at Delmarva, and as also noted above, Watkins himself worked at Delmarva from 2005 to 2008 and 2013 to 2016, prior to joining UNA. (ECF No. 24-2 at 17:19-18:6.)
Thorpe explained in his deposition that hours worked by staff at UNA, such as Watkins, were logged by the employee calling in at the beginning of each shift. (ECF No. 24-3 at 27:14-28:5.) Thorpe alleged that he could assist Watkins and other employees he supervised with keeping hours correctly logged if, for example, they were having trouble with the call-in-entry process. (Id. at 28:6-30:14.) Thorpe could correct the clocked times when he was in the office. (Id. at 30:3-14.) The payroll system was known as "MITC," and it was known to have frequent problems. (Id. at...
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