Amponsah v. DirecTV, LLC

278 F. Supp. 3d 1352
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedOctober 4, 2017
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 1:14-CV-03314-LMM
StatusPublished

This text of 278 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (Amponsah v. DirecTV, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amponsah v. DirecTV, LLC, 278 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (N.D. Ga. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER

LEIGH MARTIN MAY, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This case comes before the Court on Defendants DirecTV, LLC and MasTec North America, Inc.’s Motion for Summary'Judgment [116]. Plaintiffs, each of whom worked as satellite technicians, filed this case on October 15, 2014, alleging that Defendants willfully violated .the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201, by failing to make required minimum wage and overtime payments to Plaintiffs. Dkt. Nos. [1, '"54]. Defendants, however, assert that Plaintiffs aré not entitled to relief under’ the FLSA for six reasons: (1) Plaintiffs were independent contractors, not employees, and thus outside the scope of the FLSA; (2) neither Defendant qualiflés as a “joint employer” of any Plaintiff; (3) even if Plaintiffs were employees and Defendants their employers, they fall within FLSA Section 207(i)’s exemption; (4) Plaintiffs cannot establish either Defendant’s actual or constructive knowledge of the hours worked by Plaintiffs; (5) Plaintiffs cannot ’ identify any provable damages; and (6) some of Plaintiffs’ claims are outside of the applicable statute of limitations. Dkt. No, [116-1] at 2-3, 70. After due consideration, the Court enters the following Order.

I. BACKGROUND1

As described above, Plaintiffs brought this case against Defendants, claiming that Defendants employed them and failed to pay them minimum wage and overtime pay as' required under the FLSA; Plaintiffs Amponsah, Exum, Hodges, Tchaas, and Velez each bring claims solely against Defendant DirecTV. Dkt. No. [172-1] ¶9. Plaintiffs Davila, Fennell, Jelks, McWil-liams, and Pegues each bring claims against both Defendants. Id. ¶10, Defendants have raised six defenses in their Motion that they argue merit the Court granting summary judgment against Plaintiffs.

Defendant DirecTV is a leading provider of digital television entertainment, which is distributed to customers primarily by satellite. Dkt. No. [141-21] at 5 (DirecTV 2014 Annual Report). When someone orders DirecTV service, equipment must be installed at the customer’s location. Dkt. No. [172-1] ¶ 13. A division of Defendant DirecTV called “DirecTV Home Services” hires satellite technicians' to perform equipment installations. Id. Defendant DirectTV directly employs over 4,500 technicians and utilizes another. 10,000 technicians through contracted Home Service Providers (“HSP”), one of which is Defendant MasTec. Dkt. Nos. [141-21] at 7; [174-1] ¶¶ 3, 5. Defendant MasTec is Defendant DirecTV’s exclusive HSP .for certain geographic areas. Id. ¶ 37. The vast majority of Defendant MasTec’s revenue comes from Defendant DirecTV. Id. Defendant DirecTV’s HSPs, including Defendant MasTec, routinely subcontract installation work out to various companies. Dkt. No. [172-1] ¶ 18. Defendant MasTec also employs some of its own technicians directly. Dkt. No. [174-1] ¶ 13.

The relationship between Defendants DirecTV and MasTec is governed by a written contract referred to as an “HSP Agreement.” Id. ¶ 16; see Dkt. No. 142-10 (MasTec HSP Agreement). The HSP Agreement provides:

Contractor is an independent contractor authorized during the term hereof to perform and provide Services to DIRECTV. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, Contractor shall have full control over the. methods, techniques, sequences, and procedures qf the Services to be provided hereunder. This Agreement is intended to create an independent contractor relationship between the parties for purposes of federal, state and local law, including the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.... Because Contractor and Contractor’s employees and subcontractors are not employees, franchisees, , agents or otherwise of DIRECTV, .Contractor and its employees and subcontractors are not entitled to any benefits to which DIRECTV employees may be entitled under DIRECTV policies or as otherwise .required by law.'

Id. ¶ 19. The HSP Agreement requires Defendant MakTec to use Siebel, Defendant DirecTV’s work order management system, and “keep accurate and complete books and records regarding the performance of its obligations under this Agreement.” Id. ¶¶ 2(a)(i), 2(d); Dkt. No. [172-1] ¶ 22.2 Defendant DirecTV pays Defendant MasTec for completed work orders according to a “Rate Matrix” in the HSP Agreement. Dkt. No. [142-10] at 53-56. The HSP Agreement also contains an exclusivity provision that provides that “during the term of this agreement, Contractor agrees that neither it, nor its parent entities, subsidiaries or affiliates, shall perform installations or Services for any other provider or distributor of products which compete with DIRECTV’S programming services or any other DIRECTV product or’ servicé.” 1&¶ 10. This provisión also applies to Plaintiffs, as it states that “a Contractor employee trained to provide Services pursuant to this Agreement shall not simultaneously provide Services, on behalf of Contractor, for a cable company or a provider of telephone services, and vice versa.” Id.3

The HSP Agreement establishes many requirements for Defendant MasTec’s technicians. It sets out the required elements of a DirecTV installation in a highly detailed “statement of work.” Dkt. Nos. [174-1] ¶ 9b; [142-10] at 19. The HSP Agreement requires that Defendant Mas-Tec hire only technicians who successfully complete Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association Certified Installer Training; clear a criminal background check; pass a 9-panel drug screening test; and complete a DirecTV-approved training program. Dkt. Nos. [142-10] at 27-28; [174-1] ¶ 9c. It also requires Defendant MasTec’s technicians wear DirecTV identification badges as well as “no less than the approved” DirecTV shirt, jacket, cap, and pants while performing any DirecTV services, Dkt. No. [142—10] at 28-29. Defendant MasTec must ensure that all of its technicians “strictly- adhere to the DIRECTV Personal Grooming Standards.” Id. at 29. It must also “outfit all employee technicians with a laptop computer or other approved web-based, handheld device capable of receiving, modifying, and closing Work Orders in the field.” Id ¶ 2(a)(i). Further, “no less than seventy percent (70%) of all work orders shall be carried out by technicians driving vehicles meeting DIRECTV’S standards.” Id. at 28. That means that at least 70% of technicians’ vehicles must be “new or like-new and damage-free, OSHA-compliant, white vans or trucks with matching, white truck-bed shell.” Id. Under the agreement, all of Defendant MasTec’s vehicles used for DirecTV services must display a DirecTV logo as well as Defendant MasTec’s name and phone number. Id

In turn, the relationships between HSPs like Defendant MasTec and its subcontractors are governed by written contracts referred to as “Home Services Subcontractor Agreements,” which mirror Defendant DirecTV’s agreements with its own subcontractors. Dkt. Nos. [172-1] ¶ 19; [174-1] ¶ 10. This agreement requires, among other things, that any subcontractor and its employees follow all rules and policies of Defendant DirecTV. Dkt. Nos. [174-1] ¶ 11; [142-51] ¶ 8. It also states that Defendant DirecTV has the right to audit any subcontractor’s compliance with the agreement. Dkt. Nos. [174-1] ¶ 12; [142-51] ¶8. Further, the agreement says that subcontractors are independent contractors and contains a non-competition clause. Dkt.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
278 F. Supp. 3d 1352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amponsah-v-directv-llc-gand-2017.