Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness Inc.

729 F. Supp. 2d 965, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87790, 2010 WL 3001749
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedJuly 30, 2010
Docket1:06-cr-00099
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 729 F. Supp. 2d 965 (Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness Inc., 729 F. Supp. 2d 965, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87790, 2010 WL 3001749 (S.D. Ohio 2010).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GREGORY L. FROST, District Judge.

This matter came before the Court on June 22, 2010 for a bench trial, which continued through June 24, 2010. Having taken the matter under advisement at the conclusion of that trial, the Court now issues its decision in favor of Plaintiffs.

I. Background

On February 8, 2006, Plaintiff Amy Baden-Winterwood initiated the instant litigation, individually and as a putative representative for a collective action, asserting claims for unpaid wages and overtime and for declaratory and injunctive relief under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., against her employer, Defendant Life Time Fitness (“Defendant” or “LTF”). LTF is a Minnesota corporation that owns and operates approximately 90 health and fitness centers throughout the United States.

*967 On August 8, 2006, the parties stipulated (Doc. # 20) to the conditional certification of a class of employees employed by LTF who, at any time since February 8, 2003(1) had not been paid overtime for hours worked over 40 during any given week; (2) had been paid a predetermined amount, which was identified by LTF as base salary, during any given pay period; and (3) had been covered by a bonus or incentive compensation plan which included a provision allowing for "deductions to be made from the employee’s base salary to recover for bonus or incentive overpayments.

Plaintiff Baden-Winterwood mailed notice to the potential class members and, currently, the class consists of 24 individuals who are current or former employees of LTF (“Plaintiffs”). Plaintiffs are divided into four different employment departments: 11 are Department Heads in Member Activities, 5 are Department Heads in the Life Café, 7 are Department Heads in the Life Spa, and 1 is the Director of Project Management Organization (“Director of PMO”).

II. Summary Judgment Decision and Appeal of that Decision

On April 20, 2007, Plaintiffs moved for summary judgment arguing that they were entitled to overtime wages for each week of the class period because they were not paid on a salary basis. (Doc. # 62.) Specifically, Plaintiffs claimed that they were not paid on a salary basis because their pay was subject to reduction as a result “of variations in the quality or quantity” of their work, in violation of FLSA’s salary-basis test, 29 C.F.R. § 541.602(a). Plaintiffs further claimed that they were entitled to liquidated damages pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) and attorneys’ fees and costs.

Also on April 20, 2007, Defendant moved for summary judgment arguing that any reductions in Plaintiffs’ salaries were to recover advances of bonus pay unearned by Plaintiffs. (Doc. #57.) The reductions, Defendant claimed, were unrelated to the quality or quantity of Plaintiffs’ work, and therefore, were not a violation of FLSA’s salary-basis test. Alternatively, Defendant argued that to the extent any reductions violated the FLSA, Plaintiffs were entitled to overtime pay only for those pay periods when actual reductions occurred.

On July 10, 2007, the Court issued an Opinion and Order on the parties’ cross motions for summary judgment granting each in part and denying each in part. In that decision, the Court explained that to establish an overtime exemption under the FLSA an employer must satisfy three tests: “ ‘a (1) duties test; (2) salary level test; and (3) salary basis test.’ ” Acs v. Detroit Edison Co., 444 F.3d 763, 767 (6th Cir.2006) (quoting Takacs v. Hahn Auto. Corp., 246 F.3d 776, 779 (6th Cir.2001)); see also 29 C.F.R. § 541.700 (2004) “(duties test); 29 C.F.R. § 541.600 (2004) (salary level test); 29 C.F.R. § 541.602 (2004) (salary basis test).” (Doc. # 75 at 12.) The Court bifurcated the time period at issue, finding that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the salary-basis test in Auer v. Robbins, 519 U.S. 452, 117 S.Ct. 905, 137 L.Ed.2d 79 (1997), controlled for the time period before August 23, 2004, while 29 C.F.R. § 541.603 controlled for the time period between August 23, 2004 and March 3, 2006. Applying these tests, the Court concluded that certain Plaintiffs were entitled to overtime compensation but only for the three pay periods occurring in November and December, 2005, when actual deductions were taken from Plaintiffs’ pay. The Court did not address the issue of Plaintiff Tina Seals’s compensation under the salary level test.

Plaintiffs and Defendant appealed that decision. The Sixth Circuit reviewed the decision and concluded:

*968 [T]he Court AFFIRMS the district court’s decision bifurcating the class period, finding that violations of 29 C.F.R. § 541.602 occurred in November and December of 2005, and limiting § 541.603 overtime compensation to those three pay periods. However, the Court REVERSES the district court insofar as it found that the pre-August 23, 2004 compensation plan did not create a substantial likelihood of deductions. The Court, therefore, concludes that Life Time Fitness is liable for overtime compensation to those Plaintiffs employed and subject to the corporate bonus-pay plan from January 1, 2004 to August 23, 2004. Finally, the Court REMANDS the issue of whether Plaintiff Tina Seals’s compensation met the salary level test to the district court for further consideration consistent with this opinion.

(Doc. # 88 at 24) (emphasis in original).

III. Case After Remand

After remand, this Court was presented with two issues to consider before the case was heard as a trial to the court. First, the Court considered the issue of representative testimony and determined that Plaintiffs were permitted to present representative testimony at trial. (Doc. # 98.) Second, the Court considered the claims presented by class member Tina Seals. The Court addressed, initially, whether Seals’s salary level test claim was properly before it and, on April 7, 2010, issued an Opinion and Order in which it concluded that it was. (Doc. # 101.) In that decision, the Court directed the parties to file simultaneous briefs addressing the merits of Seals’s claim.

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Bluebook (online)
729 F. Supp. 2d 965, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87790, 2010 WL 3001749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baden-winterwood-v-life-time-fitness-inc-ohsd-2010.