Winn v. Tenet Healthcare Corp. D/b/a St. Francis Hosp.
| Decision Date | 27 January 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 2:10-cv-02140-JPM-cgc,2:10-cv-02140-JPM-cgc |
| Parties | TERRY WINN, an individual on behalf of herself and others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION d/b/a ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Tennessee |
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, TO STAY PROCEEDINGS AND COMPEL COMPLIANCE WITH AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE AND ORDER DENYING AS MOOT PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO TRANSFER VENUE.
Before the Court is Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, to Stay Proceedings and Compel Compliance with Agreement to Arbitrate, filed May 24, 2010. Plaintiff responded in opposition on June 23, 2010. (D.E. 19 ("Pl.'s Resp. to Mot. to Dismiss").) Defendant filed a reply brief on July 16, 2010. (D.E. 31 ("Def.'s Reply").)
Also before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion to Transfer Venue, filed June 23, 2010. (D.E. 18 ("Pl.'s Mot. to Transfer Venue".) Defendant responded in opposition on July 7, 2010. (D.E. 28 ("Def.'s Resp. to Mot. to Transfer").)
The Court held a telephonic hearing on both motions on September 23, 2010, and took them under advisement. (D.E. 38.)
For the following reasons, Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED. Plaintiff's Motion to Transfer Venue is DENIED as MOOT.
This action arises from Plaintiff Terry Winn's allegations that her former employer, Saint Francis Hospital1 ("Defendant" or "SFH"), failed to pay her and other similarly situated employees overtime compensation allegedly due and owing as a result of working through unpaid meal breaks. (Collective Action Compl. ("Compl.") ¶¶ 9-10.) On March 1, 2010, Plaintiff sued Defendant for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq., unjust enrichment/quantum meruit, breach of contract, and violations of the Tennessee Wage Regulation Act. (Id. ¶¶ 1, 42.)
Plaintiff designated her suit as a collective action under § 216(b) of the FLSA. See 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). Under the FLSA, Plaintiff may sue "for and in behalf of himself... and other employees similarly situated, " but "no employee shall be a party plaintiff to any such action unless he gives his consent inwriting to become such a party and such consent is filed in the court in which such action is brought." Id. Apart from Plaintiff, no other current or former SFH employees have filed notices of consent to be parties to the collective action.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 12(b)(1) and sections 3 and 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), Defendant asks the Court to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint and compel Plaintiff to arbitrate her claims on the basis that Plaintiff signed an employment agreement under which she agreed to submit all employment disputes to arbitration. (Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss 3.) In the alternative, Defendant asks the Court to stay the proceedings pending arbitration. (Id.)
Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") sets forth the procedure to be followed by a district court when presented with a motion to compel arbitration. See 9 U.S.C. § 4; Great Earth Cos., Inc. v. Simons, 288 F.3d 878, 889 (6th Cir. 2002). That section provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
[a] party aggrieved by the... refusal of another to arbitrate under a written agreement for arbitration may petition any United States district court... for an order directing that such arbitration proceed in the manner provided for in such agreement.... The court shall hear the parties, and upon being satisfied that the making of the agreement for arbitration or the failure to comply therewith is not in issue, the court shall make an order directing the parties to proceed to arbitration in accordance with the terms of the agreement.... If the making of thearbitration agreement... be in issue, the court shall proceed summarily to the trial thereof.
Id. at 888-89 (citing 9 U.S.C. § 4). Thus, before compelling an unwitting party to arbitrate, the Court must engage in a limited review and determine whether Plaintiff entered into a valid contract with Defendant to arbitrate her claims. See Fazio v. Lehman Bros., 340 F.3d 386, 392 (6th Cir. 2003). When analyzing a motion to compel arbitration of federal statutory claims, a court must consider "whether Congress intended those claims to be nonarbitrable." Stout v. J.D. Byrider, 228 F.3d 709, 714 (6th Cir. 2000)(citation omitted). "If the statutory claim is subject to arbitration, a court then considers whether the parties have executed a valid arbitration agreement and, if so whether the claim falls within the scope of that agreement." Johnson v. Long John Silver's Rests., 320 F. Supp. 2d 656, 660-61 (M.D. Tenn. 2004) (citing Floss v. Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc., 211 F.3d 306, 311 (6th Cir. 2000)).
The district court must compel arbitration if it is satisfied that the agreement to arbitrate is not "in issue." Great Earth Cos., 288 F.3d at 889. If, however, "the validity of the agreement to arbitrate is 'in issue, ' the court must proceed to a trial to resolve the question." Id. (citing 9 U.S.C. § 4). "In order to show that the validity of the agreement is 'in issue, ' the party opposing arbitration must show a genuine issue of material fact as to the validity of theagreement to arbitrate." Id. (citations omitted). "The required showing mirrors that required to withstand summary judgment in a civil suit." Id.2
Disputes that arise out of employment may properly be made the subject of mandatory arbitration. See, e.g., Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams, 532 U.S. 105, 119 (2001). It is now well-settled that "statutory claims may be the subject of an arbitration agreement, enforceable pursuant to the FAA." Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 500 U.S. 20, 26 (1991). Likewise, courts routinely find that an employer may enter into a binding arbitration agreement for any claims under the FLSA.3
See, e.g., Walker v. Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc., 400 F.3d 370, 387-88 (6th Cir. 2005) (); Floss, 211 F.3d at 313 (); Johnson, 320 F. Supp. 2d at 661 (); Fisher v. GE Medical Sys., 276 F. Supp. 2d 891, 894 (M.D. Tenn. 2003) ().
Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiff's FLSA claims are subject to arbitration.
Section 2 of the FAA provides that a written agreement to arbitrate disputes arising out of a contract involving interstate commerce "shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract." 9 U.S.C. § 2. The FAArequires courts to "rigorously enforce" arbitration agreements and manifests a "strong federal policy in favor of enforcing arbitration agreements." Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. Byrd, 470 U.S. 213, 217 (1985).
Plaintiff was employed as a nurse at SFH. (Compl. ¶ 7.) On August 19, 2001, Plaintiff signed an Employee Acknowledgment Form, which provides, among other things, that she received a copy of the Tenet Fair Treatment Process contained in the Employee Handbook:
I acknowledge that I have received a copy of the Tenet Employee Handbook and Standards of Conduct and that I understand that they contain important information about the company's general personnel policies and about my privileges and obligations as an employee. I further understand and acknowledge that I am governed by the contents of the Employee Handbook and Standards of Conduct and that I am expected to read, understand, familiarize myself with and comply with the policies contained in them.
...
In addition, I acknowledge that I have received and reviewed a copy of the Tenet Fair Treatment Process brochure. I hereby voluntarily agree to use the Company's Fair Treatment Process and to submit to final and binding arbitration any and all claims and disputes that are related in any way to my employment or the termination of my employment with Tenet. I understand that final and binding arbitration will be the sole and exclusive remedy for any such claim or dispute against Tenet or its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies or entities, and each of its and/or their employees, officers, directors or agents, and that, by agreeing to use arbitration to resolve my dispute, both the Company and I agree to forego any right we each may have had to a jury trial on issues covered by the Fair Treatment Process. I also agree that such arbitration will be conducted before anexperienced arbitrator chosen by me and the Company, and will be conducted under the Federal Arbitration Act and the procedural rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA").
I further acknowledge that in exchange for my agreement to arbitrate, the Company also agrees to submit all claims and disputes it may have with me to final and binding arbitration, and that the Company further agrees that if I submit a request for binding arbitration, my maximum out-of-pocket expenses for the arbitrator and the administrative costs of the AAA will be an amount equal to one day's pay (if I am a non-exempt employee), or the local civil filing fee, whichever is less and that the Company will pay all of the...
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