Williams v. Tri-County Growers, Inc.

• Decision Date: 22 October 1984
• Docket Number: Nos. 83-1430,No. 83-1478,83-1478,TRI-COUNTY,No. 83-1430,83-1430,s. 83-1430
• Parties: 26 Wage & Hour Cas. (BN 1519, 102 Lab.Cas. P 34,600, 17 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 60 WILLIAMS, Ginger, Watkins, Albert, Moody, Luther, Moody, Fred, Moody, Hayver, Jerry, James, and Thomas, Alfred, Graham, Roosevelt, Powell, Joseph v.GROWERS, INC., a corporation. Appeal ofGROWERS, INC., Cross-Appellant inAppellee inAppeal of A. WATKINS, L. Moody, F. Moody, H. Moody, and Joseph Powell, Appellants inCross-Appellees in
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 121

747 F.2d 121

26 Wage & Hour Cas. (BN 1519, 102 Lab.Cas. P 34,600,

17 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 60

WILLIAMS, Ginger, Watkins, Albert, Moody, Luther, Moody, Fred, Moody, Hayver, Jerry, James, and Thomas, Alfred, Graham, Roosevelt, Powell, Joseph v. TRI-COUNTY GROWERS, INC., a corporation.

Appeal of TRI-COUNTY GROWERS, INC., Cross-Appellant in No.

83-1430 Appellee in No. 83-1478.

Appeal of A. WATKINS, L. Moody, F. Moody, H. Moody, and

Joseph Powell, Appellants in No. 83-1478

Cross-Appellees in No. 83-1430.

Nos. 83-1430, 83-1478.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued July 19, 1984.

Decided Oct. 22, 1984.

Larrick B. Stapleton (argued), Fell & Spalding, Philadelphia, Pa., for Tri-County Growers, Inc., cross-appellant in No. 83-1430 and appellee in No. 83-1478.

Arthur N. Read, Friends of Farmworkers, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., and G. Geffert (argued), West Virginia Legal Services Plan, Inc., Martinsburg, W. Va., for A. Watkins, L. Moody, F. Moody, H. Moody, and Joseph Powell, appellants in No. 83-1478 and cross-appellees in No. 83-1430.

Before ADAMS, HIGGINBOTHAM and VAN DUSEN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

VAN DUSEN, Senior Circuit Judge.

Defendant appeals from the district court's Memorandum Opinions and Orders of February 16, 1983, and May 17, 1983, which awarded plaintiffs unpaid minimum wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. Secs. 206(a)(5), 216(b) (the "FLSA"), and statutory damages under the Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act, 7 U.S.C. Secs. 2045(e), 2050(a) (the "FLCRA"), repealed by the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. Secs. 1801-72 (the "MSPA"). ¹ Plaintiffs filed a cross-appeal contending that the district court erroneously denied them liquidated damages under the FLSA, erroneously denied them statutory damages under two other sections of the FLCRA, erroneously denied them liquidated damages under the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act, W.Va.Code Secs. 21-5-4(b), (c) and (e) (the "West Virginia Act"), and erroneously calculated the amount of attorneys' fees. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291. ² For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgments of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

This remand is necessary, inter alia, to carry out the rule of The Schooner Peggy, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 103, 110, 2 L.Ed. 49 (1801), and Bradley v. Richmond School Board, 416 U.S. 696, 94 S.Ct. 2006, 40 L.Ed.2d 476 (1974); see Kirby v. United States, 745 F.2d 204 (3d Cir.1984), at 209. In Bradley, 416 U.S. at 711, 94 S.Ct. at 2016, the Court said:

"... a court is to apply the law in effect at the time it renders its decision, unless doing so would result in manifest injustice or there is statutory direction or legislative history to the contrary."

Because appellate court decisions clarifying the applicable law in both (a) the district court's opinion of February 16, 1983 on the merits (24a-55a) (see e.g. Guthrie v. Lady Jane Collieries, Inc., 722 F.2d 1141, 1149 (3d Cir.1983)), and (b) that court's opinion on attorneys' fees of May 17, 1983 (143a-152a) (see e.g. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983), at parts III-V; Citizens Council of Delaware County v. Brinegar, 741 F.2d 584, 592-98 (3d Cir.1984); Ursic v. Bethlehem Mines, 719 F.2d 670 (3d Cir.1983); Danny Kresky Enterprises Corp. v. Magid, 716 F.2d 215, 217 (3d Cir.1983); Inmates of Allegheny County Jail v. Pierce, 716 F.2d 177, 180-81 (3d Cir.1983)), have been issued contemporaneously with or after the district court opinions, they could not have been considered by the district court in entering its final judgments in this case.

I.

This case originated in June of 1982 when the plaintiffs, five immigrant farm workers, ³ instituted suit against Tri-County Growers, Inc. ("Tri-County"), their employer, for its failure to pay all wages due to the plaintiffs under the FLSA and the West Virginia Act and to comply with assorted provisions of the FLCRA. Plaintiffs were recruited and hired pursuant to a Clearance Order that was circulated through the interstate employment service system administered by the United States Department of Labor. Tri-County circulated the Clearance Order, which sought individuals to pick apples in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The Clearance Order guaranteed the workers $3.62 per hour and stated that an average picker should pick an average of 85 bushel boxes of apples per day (548a). Each plaintiff was referred to the job by the Philadelphia office of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Office of Employment Security.

Tri-County is a farm labor contractor within the meaning of section 2042(b) of the FLCRA. In its capacity as such, Tri-County recruits seasonal workers and furnishes them to a number of orchards in West Virginia. During the fall of 1981, Tri-County recruited the plaintiffs in this action. Tri-County, on behalf of Porterfield Orchards, employed plaintiffs Albert Watkins, Luther Moody, and Joseph Powell from September 19, 1981, through September 23, 1981, when they were fired. Plaintiff Hayver Moody worked from September 24 to September 29, 1981, and Fred Moody worked from September 23 through October 3, 1981. Plaintiffs and their crew leader, Mary Wesley, testified that, although they generally worked from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. daily without stopping for lunch, plaintiffs were not credited with all the hours they actually worked. ⁴

The evidence demonstrates that Tri-County's time records originated from a "picking ticket." ⁵ Joan Dillard, a timekeeper employed by Porterfield Orchards, testified that each picker had his own "picking ticket." When a worker filled a bin, which held 20 to 25 boxes of fruit, the worker placed a "picking ticket" on the bin. Dillard would pick up two copies of the "picking ticket" and record the date and the number of units picked on a "picking slip" (191a-92a). If a bin was not full, or was only partially full, no ticket would be placed on the bin and the picker would not receive any credit for the number of boxes picked. Dillard also recorded the number of hours that each picker worked on the "picking slip." She based the number of hours with which each worker was credited on her observations when she was in the orchards; ⁶ she also routinely deducted one hour for lunch. Two other Porterfield employees, John Porterfield and Boyd Brown, also observed the work performance of the picking crews at intervals throughout the day. The plaintiffs, however, were not under constant observation by any Porterfield employee.

The "picking slip" included categories entitled "Time Started," "Time Ended," "Hours Offered," "Hours Worked," "Hours Not Worked," and "Units Picked" (562a). ⁷ Dillard turned the "picking slips" in to Porterfield Orchards, which turned them over to Tri-County. These "picking slips" served as the basis for Tri-County's payroll records. At the end of each pay period, the plaintiffs received paychecks that fully disclosed the amount of money deducted for social security and meals, a service provided by Tri-County. Tri-County, however, did not inform the plaintiffs that Porterfield Orchards paid Tri-County 19 cents for each bushel box picked by the plaintiffs. Moreover, Tri-County failed to provide copies of all records Tri-County was required to keep under the FLCRA and 29 C.F.R. Sec. 40.51(1) to Porterfield Orchards.

The case was tried before the court, sitting without a jury, largely on deposition testimony. Three plaintiffs and one defense witness presented limited testimony in person at the trial. After all evidence was presented, the court first considered plaintiffs' FLSA claims.

The court found, inter alia, "that the defendant failed to keep accurate time records" (35a) and that plaintiffs were not paid "their guaranteed minimum hourly wage [of $3.62 per hour] for those hours which they have proven they were in the Porterfield Orchard" (37a, 41a). ⁸ The court found, however, that plaintiffs were not entitled to statutory liquidated damages under the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 216(b), because the defendant's failure to pay the required wages "was in good faith and [the employer] had reasonable grounds for believing that [its] act or omission was not a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act ..." (38a).

The court next addressed plaintiffs' FLCRA claims. After determining that a private right of action exists under the FLCRA, the court awarded each plaintiff statutory damages of $500. for each of three intentional violations of the FLCRA and the regulations promulgated thereunder. In its Memorandum Opinions of February 16, 1983, and May 17, 1983, the court rejected plaintiffs' contentions that other sections of the FLCRA and the Code of Federal Regulations were violated.

In ruling on plaintiffs' final substantive claim, the district court found that the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act, W.Va.Code Sec. 21-5-4(e), was not "intended to remedy the ... situation where the employer has consistently maintained that it has paid all wages it believed due based on the hours worked as recorded by it for each plaintiff" (52a-53a). Consequently, the court refused to award plaintiffs additional liquidated damages for alleged violations of the West Virginia Act. Finally, in its Order of February 16, 1983, the court awarded plaintiffs prejudgment interest of 6% on that portion of the plaintiffs' award representing wages due.

Subsequent to the district court's Memorandum Opinion and Order of February 16, 1983, and in compliance with that Opinion and Order, plaintiffs filed a motion for an award of attorneys' fees under the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 216(b). The affidavits detailed 167.9 hours of work by Arthur N. Read (69a), who sought $100. per hour, and 176.2 hours by Garry G. Geffert, who sought $90. per hour. The court disallowed approximately 81% of the...