Brittmon v. Upreach, LLC

285 F. Supp. 3d 1033
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedJanuary 23, 2018
DocketCase No. 2:17–cv–219
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 285 F. Supp. 3d 1033 (Brittmon v. Upreach, LLC) 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
Brittmon v. Upreach, LLC, 285 F. Supp. 3d 1033 (S.D. Ohio 2018).

Opinion

MICHAEL H. WATSON, JUDGE

Plaintiff Latesha Brittmon ("Plaintiff"), individually and on behalf of all similarly-situated individuals, brings claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), and various Ohio laws against Defendants Upreach, LLC ("Upreach"), Melissa Gourley ("Gourley"), and Beth Hunter ("Hunter") (collectively, "Defendants") to recover unpaid overtime wages. Before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion for Conditional Certification and Court-Supervised Notice to Potential Opt-ln Plaintiffs, ECF No. 4; Defendants' 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 6; Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File a Sur-Reply Instanter, ECF No. 12; and Plaintiff's Motion to Toll the Statute of Limitations for Potential Opt-ln Plaintiffs, ECF No. 14. The latter three motions have been fully briefed and are ripe for review. For the reasons explained below, the Court DENIES Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, DENIES Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File a Sur-Reply, and DENIES Plaintiff's Motion to Toll the Statute of Limitations. Additionally, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Plaintiff's Motion for Conditional Certification and Court-Supervised *1037Notice.1

I. BACKGROUND

Upreach is a home care staffing agency that employs direct care workers for the developmentally disabled in need of assistance. Gourley is Chief Executive Officer, and Gourley and Hunter are co-owners, of Upreach.

Plaintiff was jointly employed by Defendants as a Support Specialist from approximately February 2015 to approximately July 2016. As a Support Specialist, Plaintiff provided companionship services, domestic services, home care, and other in-home services for individuals with developmental disabilities. Plaintiff alleges that she and similarly situated employees regularly worked more than forty hours per workweek but that, from approximately January 1, 2015, to October 13, 2015, they were not paid one and one-half times their regular rate for each hour worked over forty.

Plaintiff seeks remuneration for unpaid overtime wages on behalf of the following proposed class of FLSA opt-in plaintiffs and Rule 23 putative class members:

All current and former employees of Defendants who have worked as direct support professionals, support associates, caregivers, home health aides, or other employees who provided companionship services, domestic services, home care, and/or other in-home services, and who worked over 40 hours in any workweek beginning January 1, 2015 through October 13, 2015, and were not paid time and a half for the hours they worked over 40.

Compl. ¶¶ 31, 37, ECF No. 1. Plaintiff alleges that the proposed class includes upwards of around 250 similarly situated individuals who worked as, for example, direct support professionals, support specialists, caregivers, home health aides, and others who provided companionship services, domestic services, home care, and other in-home services for Defendants during the relevant time period. Id. at ¶ 32.

What spawned this action, and many others like it, is a change to Department of Labor ("DOL") regulations defining the categories of employees exempted from the FLSA's overtime protections. Subject to specific exceptions, the FLSA generally requires covered employers to pay overtime compensation in the amount of 150% of the employee's regular pay rate for all hours worked in excess of forty hours per week. 29 U.S.C. §§ 206(a), 207(a). In 1974, the FLSA was amended to exempt "domestic service" employees (that is, employees "provid[ing] companionship services for individuals who (because of age or infirmity) are unable to care for themselves") from the FLSA's overtime requirement. 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(15). The next year, the DOL adopted implementing regulations that, in relevant part, included individuals employed by third parties in its category of exempted employees. 29 C.F.R. § 552.109(a), (c) (2014).

In 2013, the DOL reversed course, adopting a new rule (the "Final Rule" or "Rule") that brought domestic service employees of third-parties within the protections of the FLSA. 29 C.F.R. § 552.6 (2016). The Final Rule was scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2015. Id. ; see also 80 Fed. Reg. 65646 (Oct. 27, 2015).

Prior to its effective date, however, a group of trade associations representing third-party employers of home care workers filed a lawsuit challenging the regulation *1038under the Administrative Procedure Act. In December 2014, the D.C. District Court vacated the Final Rule based on its finding that the Rule was an unreasonable interpretation of federal law and was arbitrary and capricious. Home Care Ass'n of Am. v. Weil, 76 F.Supp.3d 138, 147-48 (D.D.C. 2014). The DOL appealed, and on August 21, 2015, the D.C. Circuit Court reversed the district court's ruling and vacatur of the regulation. Home Care Ass'n of Am. v. Weil, 799 F.3d 1084, 1097 (D.C. Cir. 2015). Thereafter, the DOL issued guidance stating that it would not institute enforcement proceedings for violations of the Final Rule until thirty days after the Court of Appeals issued its mandate. 80 Fed. Reg. 55029 (Sept. 14, 2015). The Court of Appeals issued its mandate on October 13, 2015, and the DOL issued another guidance indicating it would not bring enforcement actions for violations of the Rule until November 12, 2015.

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Bluebook (online)
285 F. Supp. 3d 1033, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brittmon-v-upreach-llc-ohsd-2018.