Athan v. U.S. Steel

364 F. Supp. 3d 748
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedFebruary 4, 2019
DocketCase No. 17-14220
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 364 F. Supp. 3d 748 (Athan v. U.S. Steel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Athan v. U.S. Steel, 364 F. Supp. 3d 748 (E.D. Mich. 2019).

Opinion

TERRENCE G. BERG, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

I. Introduction

Plaintiffs brought this case under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), claiming that they were paid late or not at all for work performed for Defendant United States Steel. Some late or unpaid hours were overtime hours, in excess of 40 hours per week, and some were regular hours in weeks in which Plaintiffs worked no more than 40 hours. For non-overtime hours, Plaintiffs claim that they are entitled to minimum wage, $ 9.25 per hour,1 in addition to statutory liquidated damages. For overtime hours, Plaintiffs request one and one-half times their regular rate plus an equal amount of liquidated damages, which is the amount prescribed by statute. Plaintiffs' claims are brought pursuant to 29 U.S.C. §§ 206(a) and 207(a).

Defendant moved to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint. For the reasons following, the Court DENIES in part and GRANTS in part Defendant's Motion to Dismiss.

II. Background

Defendant uses a timekeeping system that electronically tracks when employees are at work through a badge-swiping system. The foundational allegation of Plaintiffs' suit is that Defendant issues paychecks with incorrect hours. Plaintiffs claim that this frequently results in paycheck shortages.

After issuing an incorrect paycheck, Defendant generally corrects it later. This correction is described as "retro pay" on employees' paychecks. Plaintiffs have submitted a number of pay stubs showing the "retro pay" adjustment. But the record does not reveal any pattern as to when paychecks will be corrected and Plaintiffs claim that some employees remain unpaid for certain hours that they worked.

FLSA is a federal statute that, at its root, seeks to prevent employers from treating workers unfairly in their wages and hours.

*753Tenn. Coal, Iron & R. Co. v. Muscoda Local No. 123 , 321 U.S. 590, 592, 64 S.Ct. 698, 88 L.Ed. 949 (1944). FLSA is often called the "minimum wage/maximum hours law" because it establishes a minimum wage for the 40-hour week, and requires that any hours over 40 in a week be paid overtime at time-and-a-half their regular wage. Section 206(a) sets the minimum wage for employees "who in any workweek [are] engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce" at $ 7.25 per hour. Section 207(a) prohibits employers from employing persons "for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed."

Plaintiffs allege that Defendant violated § 206 by failing to make minimum wage payments on time (Count I), and failing to make minimum wage payments at all (Count III). Plaintiffs allege violations of § 207 in Defendant's failure to make timely overtime payments (Count II) and failure to pay some overtime hours at all (Count IV).

III. Standard of Review

A party may move to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Rule 12(b)(6) is read in conjunction with the pleading standard set forth in Rule 8(a), which requires "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Rule 8(a)(2); see Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 677-68, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). This standard does not require particularly detailed factual allegations. Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). However, a party's "obligation to provide the 'grounds' of his 'entitle[ment]' to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (internal citations omitted). To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the complaint and any other matters properly considered must contain "sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).

A claim has facial plausibility when the pleaded factual content allows the court, drawing upon its "judicial experience and common sense," to reasonably infer that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Id. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (citing Twombly ,

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364 F. Supp. 3d 748, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/athan-v-us-steel-mied-2019.