Brea v. Heartland Express Incorporated of Iowa

Filing 65

ORDER that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 58 ) is granted in part and denied in part. Count One is dismissed. Count Two survives. Signed by Judge G Murray Snow on 7/16/2012.(KMG)

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WO

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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Heartland Express, Inc. of Iowa, an Iowa)
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corporation,
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Defendant.
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Rafael Brea,

No. CV-11-00042-PHX-GMS
ORDER

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Pending before the Court is Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. (Doc. 58).
For the reasons stated below, the motion is granted in part and denied in part.
BACKGROUND

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Plaintiff seeks compensation for unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act

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(“FLSA”) and violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) related to his

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employment with Defendant, a national shipping company. Plaintiff began working for

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Defendant as a Fleet Manager in Defendant’s Jacksonville Florida office in 2003. (Doc. 59

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¶ 4). In 2005, Plaintiff transferred to Defendant’s Phoenix location, where he worked as a

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Route/Load Planner under the supervision of Terminal Manager Mark Crouse. (Doc. 59 ¶¶

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8–9). A Load Planner is responsible for making work assignments for drivers and ensuring

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that the freight is transported efficiently. (Doc. 59 ¶ 22). Plaintiff was paid a weekly salary,

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rather than an hourly wage. (Doc. 59 ¶ 32–38). Plaintiff and others employed at Defendant’s

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Phoenix location came to work at 7:00 a.m., and left when the work was done for the day,

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between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Plaintiff would periodically work weekends. (Doc. 62 ¶ 28).

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Plaintiff’s health began to deteriorate in 2003 or 2004. In 2007 he was diagnosed with

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muscular dystrophy. (Doc. 59 ¶ 40). In 2009, he spoke to Defendant’s Human Resources

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Department by phone and was told that he would be eligible for FMLA leave if he made a

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request supported by a physician’s certification. (Doc. 59 ¶ 44). On October 13, 2009, he

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submitted a certification from his treating physician detailing his diagnosis of muscular

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dystrophy. (Doc. 59-2, Ex. H). Plaintiff spoke to Crouse, his supervisor, about possibly

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reducing his work schedule. (Doc. 62 ¶ DD). In early 2010, Plaintiff spoke to Defendant’s

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Human Resources office again, asking if his hours could be reduced. (Doc. 59 ¶ 50).

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Defendant had taken no action based upon the certification from Plaintiff’s doctor because

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“there was really no information on the document we’d received from his physician that

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indicated he was going to be using any time off or he would be missing any work.” (Doc. 59-

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2 Ex. E at 11:12–14). In February, Defendant contacted Plaintiff’s physician, who

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recommended that Plaintiff take 1–2 days off of work per week. (Doc. 59 ¶ 52). Defendant

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then agreed that Plaintiff would work an exclusively Monday–Thursday workweek, but

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advised Plaintiff that his salary would be proportionally reduced. (Doc. 59 ¶¶ 55–56).

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Plaintiff advised Defendant that he believed that the arrangement was unfair, and resigned

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on February 26, 2010. (Doc. 59 ¶ 57).

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Plaintiff filed this suit on January 6, 2011, alleging that he was denied overtime as

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required by the FLSA and that the arrangement offered by Defendant in February 2010

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violated the FMLA. (Doc. 1).

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DISCUSSION
I.

Legal Standard

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Summary judgment is appropriate if the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable

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to the nonmoving party, shows “that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that

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the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c). Only disputes

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over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit will preclude the entry of summary
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judgment, and the disputed evidence must be “such that a reasonable jury could return a

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verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248

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(1986). “[A] party seeking summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of

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informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of [the

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record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.”

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Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986).

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II.

Analysis

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A.

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The FLSA generally requires employers to pay overtime to employees who work over

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forty hours in a week. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1) (2006). The FLSA admits to an “administrative

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exception” for “any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or

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professional capacity.” 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1) (2006). An “employer who claims an

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exemption from the FLSA has the burden of showing that the exemption applies.” Donovan

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v. Nekton, Inc., 703 F.2d 1148, 1151 (9th Cir. 1983). The FLSA “is to be liberally construed

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to apply to the furthest reaches consistent with Congressional direction” and FLSA

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exceptions are therefore “are to be withheld except as to persons plainly and unmistakenly

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within their terms and spirit.” Klem v. County of Santa Clara, 208 F.3d 1085, 1089 (9th Cir.

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2000) (internal citations omitted). The administrative exception is defined by regulation to

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mean any employee:

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Fair Labor Standards Act

(1) Compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate of not less
than $455 per week . . .

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(2) Whose primary duty is the performance of office or nonmanual work directly related to the management or general
business operations of the employer or the employer’s
customers; and
(3) Whose primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and
independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

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29 C.F.R. § 541.200. A job title alone does not establish that an employee is exempt; the
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status of any employee must be determined “on the basis of whether the employee’s salary
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and duties meet the requirements of the regulations in this part.” 29 C.F.R. § 541.2. Although
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whether a particular set of job responsibilities meets the administrative exception is a pure

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question of law, how an employee “spent his working time is a question of fact.” Bothell v.

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Phase Metrics, 299 F.3d 1120, 1124 (9th Cir. 2002). The fact that a position “required a great

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deal of specialized knowledge and skill is not determinative” of whether the administrative

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exception applies; rather, the exception applies when “the person has the authority or power

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to make an independent choice, free from immediate direction or supervision, and with

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respect to matters of significance.” Bothell, 299 F.3d at 1129. Both parties agree that Plaintiff

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was paid over $455 per week.

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Defendant argues that Plaintiff was properly categorized as a non-salaried employee

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because he “consistently received exceptional performance evaluations throughout the

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entirety of his time at [Defendant]’s Phoenix office.” (Doc. 58 at 8). Plaintiff notes that he

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did not supervise other employees. (Doc. 62 ¶ N). Neither of these facts is probative of

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whether his actual duties “directly related to the management or general business operations

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of the employer” and include “the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with

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respect to matters of significance.” 29 C.F.R. § 541.200. Supervising others is not required

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for a job to be classified as administrative. See Palacio v. Progressive Ins. Co., 244 F. Supp.

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2d 1040, 1046 (C.D. Cal. 2002) (emphasizing that the test is whether particular employees

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“are of ‘substantial importance’ to a business, not that their work is necessarily related to

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business management”). As the Ninth Circuit noted in Bothell, the Department of Labor’s

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regulations include the following under the exemption: “advising the management, planning,

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negotiating, representing the company, purchasing, promoting sales, and business research

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and control.” Bothell, 299 F.3d at 1126 (quoting 29 C.F.R. § 541.205(b)).

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Plaintiff’s actual job duties are not in dispute. Plaintiff planned what loads trucks

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would take and what routes they would drive. (Doc. 59-1, Ex. B at 49:15–22). Plaintiff’s

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decisions were made to maximize efficiency for the company and to save the company

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money. (Id. at 50:4–6). Plaintiff would develop route plans for weekend drivers, which were

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implemented in his absence. (Id. at 56:22–25). He would change or cancel load assignments

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when appropriate. (Id. at 50:7–10). No other office workers in Phoenix were paid overtime,
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although the mechanics who serviced the vehicles were hourly employees and therefore non-

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exempt under FLSA. (Doc. 59-2, Ex. D at 23:23–25). Planning the routes of a trucking

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company so as to maximize the efficiency of the operation is directly related to the “general

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business operations of the employer.” 29 C.F.R. § 541.200(2). The record indicates further

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that Plaintiff operated with substantial independence; his supervisor stated that “[w]hen I am

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not here, I am confident with [Plaintiff]’s decision-making.” (Doc. 59-2, Ex. F at 44). He was

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therefore allowed “the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to

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matters of significance.” 29 C.F.R. § 541.200. His job was properly categorized as

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administrative, and Defendant is granted summary judgment on the FLSA claim.

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II.

Family and Medical Leave Act

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The FMLA entitles employees to a total of twelve workweeks of leave during any

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twelve month period when the employee has “a serious health condition that makes the

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employee unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee.” 29 U.S.C. §

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2612(a)(1)(D) (2006). It is “the employer’s responsibility, not the employee’s, to determine

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whether a leave request is likely to be covered by the Act.” Bachelder v. America West

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Airlines, Inc., 259 F.3d 1112, 1130 (9th Cir. 2001). To implicate the FMLA, an employee

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“need not expressly assert rights under the FMLA or even mention the FMLA but may only

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state that leave is needed for a qualifying reason.” Id. (internal brackets omitted). The

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employer “may request medical certification to support the need for such leave.” Id.

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“Generally, FMLA leave is unpaid leave.” 29 C.F.R. § 825.207.

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In 2009, Plaintiff asked about whether he would be entitled to FMLA leave, and

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submitted a document from his doctor certifying that he had muscular dystrophy. (Doc. 59-2,

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Ex. H). In that certification, one question for the physician reads, “Is the employee unable

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to perform any of his/her job functions due to the condition,” a question to which the doctor

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checked the “No” box. (Id.). Although Plaintiff’s request itself “placed [Defendant] on notice

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that the leave might be covered by the FMLA,” Defendant was in possession of a doctor’s

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certification stating that the medical condition did not require leave. Bachelder, 259 F.3d at

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1130.
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Plaintiff followed up on his inquiry in February of 2010. (Doc. 62, Ex. GG), At that

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time, Plaintiff’s physician informed Defendant that Plaintiff’s condition required him to work

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a shorter week. (Doc. 59 ¶¶ 51–52). Defendant states that it “was not immediately clear,

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however, to Heartland’s Human Resources Department whether this reduced workweek

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going forward was more properly classified as a reasonable accommodation under the

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Americans with Disabilities Act (‘ADA’) or an intermittent leave of absence under the

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FMLA.” (Doc. 59 ¶ 54). It further notes that Plaintiff thought the proposed arrangement was

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unfair as a general principle, not because he believed it violated the FMLA. Defendant is not

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entitled to summary judgment based upon the fact that its Human Resources Department was

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confused or the fact that Plaintiff was not familiar with the intricacies of the FMLA. Neither

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Defendant’s confusion nor Plaintiff’s stated reason for his dissatisfaction are relevant to the

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question of whether Plaintiff made a request for FMLA leave that was not honored. “[T]he

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employer’s good faith or lack of knowledge that its conduct violated the Act is, as a general

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matter, pertinent only to the question of damages under the FMLA, not to liability.”

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Bachelder, 259 F.3d at 1130. To the extent that differentiating the 2009 and 2010 requests

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for leave is relevant, however, Plaintiff’s physician only certified that the medical condition

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required leave in 2010.

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Finding all questions of fact in Plaintiff’s favor, Plaintiff requested that his hours be

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reduced because he had been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, and his doctor confirmed

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in 2010 that Plaintiff had a medical condition that required a shorter work week. Defendant

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has made no argument that the arrangement it offered Plaintiff in fact complied with the

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FMLA, so the Court need not consider any such argument on its own. The FMLA was

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implicated by Plaintiff’s request, and summary judgment is therefore not appropriate.

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CONCLUSION

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Plaintiff’s job was properly classified under the administrative exception to the FLSA.

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Since there is no good-faith defense to liability for a claim under the FMLA, and no

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requirement that an employee actually reference the FMLA when requesting leave,

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Defendant has not demonstrated that it is entitled to summary judgment on the FMLA claim
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during 2010.

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment

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(Doc. 58) is granted in part and denied in part. Count One is dismissed. Count Two

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survives.

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DATED this 16th day of July, 2012.

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