Meinke v. Southern Paramedic Services Inc

Filing 37

ORDER granting 23 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge D. P. Marshall Jr. on 1/10/2017. (jak)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
WESTERN DIVISION
MATTMEINKE

v.

PLAINTIFF
No. 4:15-cv-448-DPM

SOUTHERN PARAMEDIC SERVICES, INC.

DEFENDANT

ORDER
1. Meinke sued Southern Paramedic for unpaid minimum wages and
overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Arkansas Minimum Wage
Act. Southern Paramedic seeks summary judgment.
2. Under the FLSA, the burden's on Meinke to prove he performed
work for which he wasn't properly paid. Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery
Company, 328 U.S. 680, 687 (1946). Meinke argues Southern Paramedic should

have paid him for all scheduled sleep time if he didn't get five consecutive
hours of sleep during an eight-hour sleep time period.

But under the

applicable regulation and Eighth Circuit precedent, the five hours need not
be consecutive. 29 C.F.R. § 785.22; Bouchard v. Regional Governing Board, 939
F.2d 1323, 1332 (8th Cir. 1991). Southern Paramedic had to pay Meinke for the
entire eight hours only if he didn't get five hours' sleep-in total-during the
scheduled sleep period. Ibid. Meinke' s overtime claims are mostly premised

on all that allegedly miscalculated sleep time, but Southern Paramedic
calculated it correct! y.
3.

Now to the rest of Meinke' s overtime and minimum wage claims.

If Southern Paramedic's time records were inaccurate or inadequate, Meinke

could carry his burden by" producing sufficient evidence to show the amount
and extent of that work as a matter of just and reasonable inference."

Anderson, 328 U.S. at 687.
He hasn't. Southern Paramedic provided detailed records of Meinke' s
work time. Ng 23-6 to 23-13. Meinke says Southern Paramedic changed and
cut his recorded hours, and that he worked some time that wasn't recorded
at all. But he doesn't back these allegations up with any specific dates,
supporting documents, or other corroborating information.
Meinke did produce and mention some records. Southern Paramedic
says these records document Meinke' s employment at Southern Paramedic
and another entity. Ng 24 at 3. What's missing, though, is any argument or
particulars from Meinke about how these records contradict Southern
Paramedic's comprehensive records. Other than Meinke' s bare assertions,
there's no record evidence of unpaid time worked. Even taking all inferences

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in his favor, those assertions alone wouldn't adequately support a jury's
finding that Meinke worked unpaid time in any given week. Holaway v.

Stratasys, Inc., 771 F.3d 1057, 1059-60 (8th Cir. 2014).
4. The parties haven't developed Meinke' s AMWA claim for overtime
in their summary judgment papers. But the state and federal statutes provide
the same overtime requirements, and are interpreted similarly. E.g., Helmert
v. Butterball, LLC, 805 F. Supp. 2d 655, 663 n.8 (E.D. Ark. 2011). Meinke's

AMW A claim fails for the same reasons as his FLSA claims.

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Southern Paramedic's motion for summary judgment, NQ 23, granted.
So Ordered.

D.P. Marshall Jr~
United States District Judge

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