Behnken v. Luminant Mining Co.

997 F. Supp. 2d 511, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18681, 2014 WL 585333
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedFebruary 14, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 3:13-CV-2667-D
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 997 F. Supp. 2d 511 (Behnken v. Luminant Mining Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Behnken v. Luminant Mining Co., 997 F. Supp. 2d 511, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18681, 2014 WL 585333 (N.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SIDNEY A. FITZWATER, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs Diane Behnken, Walter R. Brown, Joe Collette, Bill Doss, Jr., Daniel Griffin, and Willard Simpson, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, bring this putative collective action under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., to recover unpaid overtime pay from defendant Luminant Mining Co., LLC (“Luminant”). Plaintiffs move for conditional certification and court-facilitated notice to potential class members, and limited discovery. For the reasons that follow, the court grants the motion for conditional certification and court-facilitated notice (subject to sustaining certain of Luminant’s objections to the proposed notice), and grants in part and [515]*515denies in part the motion for limited discovery.

I

Plaintiffs allege that they are non-exempt hourly employees of Luminant who work at the Three Oaks Mine near Rock-dale, Texas.1 Luminant classifies employees according to their experience and skill set: Mine Specialist (“Spec”) I is the highest-ranking classification; Spec II is the second-highest ranking classification; Spec III is the next-highest ranking classification; and Mobile Equipment Specialist (“MES”) is the lowest-ranking classification. Within each classification, mine employees work in various positions, sometimes changing duties from shift to shift. Representative positions within each classification include, inter alia, dragline operator, loader operator, bulldozer operator, and hauler operator.

According to plaintiffs, Luminant requires all Spec I, Spec II, Spec III, and MES employees — except for mechanics and electricians — to work during their assigned meal break times. Plaintiffs allege that they were paid for 12 hours of time but were effectively required to work a 12.5-hour shift because Luminant did not provide a bona fide meal break.2 They maintain that, as a result of this practice, they worked from approximately March 2012 to March 2013 in excess of 40 hours per work week but were not paid any overtime, in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1). Plaintiffs move the court to conditionally certify the collective action and approve court-facilitated notice to a class defined as follows: “All current and former non-management mining employees other than electricians and mechanics at the Three Oaks mining facility near Rockdale, Texas operated by [Luminant] who were employed between March 1, 2012 and March 15, 2013.” Ps. Mot. 2. Luminant opposes the motion.

II

Section 216(b) of the FLSA authorizes a plaintiff to bring a collective action on behalf of similarly-situated persons, provided that any person who desires to become a part of the collective action files a written consent in the court. 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). When a plaintiff seeks to bring a collective action, a district court can in its discretion facilitate notice to potential plaintiffs of their right to opt-in to the suit. See Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. v. Sperling, 493 U.S. 165, 169, 110 S.Ct. 482, 107 L.Ed.2d 480 (1989) (involving claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., which incorporates relevant provisions of the FLSA); Barnett v. Countrywide Credit Indus., Inc., 2002 WL 1023161, at *1 (N.D.Tex. May 21, 2002) (Lynn, J.) (applying Hoffmann-La Roche to FLSA context). Although the Fifth Circuit has declined to adopt a specific test to determine when courts should exercise their discretion to facilitate notice or certify a collective action, this court has adopted the prevailing two-stage test. See Aguilar v. Complete Landsculpture, Inc., 2004 WL 2293842, at *1 (N.D.Tex. Oct. 7, 2004) (Fitzwater, J.) (adopting prevailing standard); see also Sandoz v. Cingular Wire[516]*516less LLC, 553 F.3d 913, 915 n. 2 (5th Cir.2008) (noting that collective actions are “typically” analyzed this way); Mooney v. Aramco Sews. Co., 54 F.3d 1207, 1216 (5th Cir.1995) (declining to adopt specific standard, but finding no abuse of discretion where district court applied prevailing standard), overruled on other grounds by Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa, 539 U.S. 90, 90-91, 123 S.Ct. 2148, 156 L.Ed.2d 84 (2003); Valcho v. Dall. Cnty. Hosp. Dist., 574 F.Supp.2d 618, 621-22 (N.D.Tex.2008) (Fitzwater, C.J.) (reaffirming decision in Aguilar).

Under this test, the court first determines whether plaintiffs have provided sufficient evidence of similarly-situated potential plaintiffs to warrant court-facilitated notice. Aguilar, 2004 WL 2293842, at *1. If they have, the court “conditionally certifies” the class and facilitates notice to the potential plaintiffs. Id. Second, the court reexamines the class after notice, time for opting-in, and discovery have taken place, typically in response to defendant’s motion. Id. If the court finds that the class is no longer made up of similarly-situated persons, it decertifies the class. Id. “To establish that employees are similarly situated, a plaintiff must show that they are similarly situated with respect to their job requirements and with regard to their pay provisions. The positions need not be identical, but similar.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

The court is generally more “lenient” with regard to substantial similarity during the “notice” stage of the analysis, id., but “notice is by no means mandatory.” Harris v. Fee Transp. Servs., Inc., 2006 WL 1994586, at *2 (N.D.Tex. May 15, 2006) (Solis, J.) (citing Hall v. Burk, 2002 WL 413901, at *2 (N.D.Tex. Mar. 11, 2002) (Sanders, J.)). “[T]he relevant inquiry in each particular case is whether it would be appropriate to exercise [the court’s] discretion” to facilitate notice.3 Id. A primary reason for exercising this discretion is to ensure that the joining of other parties occurs in an “orderly, sensible, ... efficient and proper way.” See Hoffmann-La Roche, 493 U.S. at 170-71, 110 S.Ct. 482. The use of court-facilitated notice can ensure that information is timely, accurate, and informative, and it can also guard against abuse by misleading communications. Id. at 171-72, 110 S.Ct. 482. The parties and the court can benefit from settling disputes about the content of the notice before it is distributed, because it may avoid the need to cancel consents obtained in an improper manner. Id. at 172, 110 S.Ct. 482.

But before granting court-facilitated notice, the court should satisfy itself that there are other similarly-situated employees of Luminant who would desire to opt-in to the lawsuit. See Dybach v. State of Fla. Dep’t of Corrections,

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Bluebook (online)
997 F. Supp. 2d 511, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18681, 2014 WL 585333, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/behnken-v-luminant-mining-co-txnd-2014.