Brown v. DS Services of America, Inc.

246 F. Supp. 3d 1206, 2017 WL 1178229, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47487
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 30, 2017
DocketNo. 15 C 1794
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 246 F. Supp. 3d 1206 (Brown v. DS Services of America, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. DS Services of America, Inc., 246 F. Supp. 3d 1206, 2017 WL 1178229, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47487 (N.D. Ill. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Virginia M. Kendall, United States District Court Judge

Dorothy L. Brown filed this action against DS Services of America, Inc., d/b/a Hinckley Springs, alleging violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 207, 216, the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, 820 ILCS 105/1 et seq., the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, 820 ILCS 115/1 et seq., and the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act, 820 ILCS 40/0.01 et seq. DS Services moves for summary judgment. For the following reasons, the Court grants DS Services’s Motion for Summary Judgment [37] in part and denies it in part.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are undisputed based upon the Court’s review of the Rule 56 statements unless otherwise noted. DS Services of America, Inc. (“DS Services” or “the company”), a national supplier of beverage delivery services, maintains a branch in Chicago. (Dkt. 47, ¶4.) On March 1, 1980, the Chicago branch hired Dorothy Brown (“Brown”) to work in the company’s computer room. (Id., ¶¶ 3, 18; Dkt. 47-1, at 1.) Brown worked at the Chicago branch in various roles over her thirty-four years with the company, eventually transitioning into a Branch Coordinator position, the role she fulfilled when DS Services laid her off in January 2014. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 3.) Brown was 67 years old at the time. (Id., ¶ 75.)

I. Brown’s Employment with DS Services

A. The DS Services Employee Handbook

During her employment with DS Services, Brown received and read the company’s Employee Handbook. (Id., ¶9; Dkt. 47-2, at 3, 17:3-16.) The Handbook contains the company’s policies on age discrimination, at>-will employment, layoffs, and overtime. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 9; Dkt. 47-2, at 46, 53, 58, 63). Specifically, during the time period relevant to this case, the Handbook states that “[n]o supervisor, manager, or [1211]*1211representative of DS Waters other than the Chief Executive Officer has the authority to enter into any agreement with an Associate ... or to make any promises that are contrary to at-will employment.” (Dkt. 47, ¶¶ 9, 11; Dkt. 47, at 46, § 2.2.) Further, the Handbook provides that “[n]o supervisor, manager or other representa-, tive ... has the authority to make any verbal promises, commitments, or statements of any kind contrary to DS Waters’ written policies, procedures, or benefits.” (Dkt. 47, ¶ 11; Dkt. 47, at 46, § 2.2.)

According to its Handbook, DS Services considers regular, full-time, nonexempt associates for layoffs on the basis of their skill, expertise, past performance, and ability. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 77; Dkt. 47-2, at 68, § 2.12.) "When two or more associates are deemed equal in these regards, the company determines layoffs based on seniority. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 77; Dkt. 47-2, at 58, § 2.12.)

The Handbook also requires nonexempt employees to “request prior approval to work overtime and record all hours worked using the Company Time and Attendance system.” (Dkt. 47, ¶ 12; Dkt. 47-2, at 63, § 3.5.) DS Services informs nonexempt employees that they must take at least a 30-minute lunch break for each five-hour work period. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 13; 47-2, at 64, § 3.6) They cannot work during lunch and need to punch out. (Id.) Management and nonexempt associates need to verify employees’ hours and ensure the accuracy of meal periods reported. (Id.) Brown understood these as the official overtime policies. (Dkt. 47, ¶¶ 12-13; Dkt. 47-1, at 6-7, ¶¶ 25-28.) The Handbook also disclaims that it “does not create a contract” between DS Service and the employee “for employment, compensation or benefits,” and that DS Services “may revise add to or eliminate at any time any of the policies, procedures, practices and benefits in the Handbook.” (Dkt. 47, ¶ 10; Dkt. 47-2, at 101.)

B. Brown’s Roles at DS Services

Brown worked in the company’s computer room for twenty-five years. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 18; Dkt. 47-1, ¶ 2.) In 2005, she transitioned into a Sales Administrator role. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 18.) At that time, she also shifted from exempt to nonexempt status, making Brown an hourly employee who needed to track her time. (Id., ¶ 19.) To record her hours, Brown used either a computer-based or physical clock to punch in and out. (Id.)

In 2009, Brown began to report to Sales Manager Scott Hurley (“Hurley”). (Id., ¶20.) While reporting to Hurley, Brown administered payroll, among other tasks. (Id.) Between June and October of 2010, Brown and Hurley arranged for Hurley to compensate Brown with time off if she worked overtime off-the-clock, even though Brown knew that they “weren’t supposed to.” (Id., ¶¶ 23, 29; Dkt. 47-2, at 22, 100:4-6.) Brown kept overtime logs during this time. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 24.) Those logs show that she worked 25.5 overtime hours for Hurley. (Id., ¶24; 47-1, at 19.) Around November 2010,1 Brown became a Branch Coordinator for the Home & Office Delivery (“HOD”) Department. (Dkt. 47, ¶25.) As a Branch Coordinator, Brown ordered supplies, prepared reports, entered data, and dealt with some customers. (Id., ¶ 26.) Route Operations Manager Dale Sjoerds-ma (“Sjoerdsma”) supervised Brown in this role. (Id., ¶ 28.) Brown did not have a [1212]*1212similar, informal overtime arrangement with Sjoerdsma and did not inform him about her arrangement with Hurley. (Id., ¶¶ 23, 29; Dkt. 47-2, at 22, 101:17-19.)

At some point in 2011 or 2012, Route Operations Manager Jim Schramm, who is over 50 years old, became Brown’s supervisor in her role as Branch Coordinator. (Dkt. 47, ¶¶ 28, 31.) They shared an office with other supervisors, including Jeff Ma-cLagan. (Id., ¶ 35.) Schramm and MacLa-gan sometimes teased Brown about her age in the year or two leading up to her layoff. (Id., ¶ 35.) Schramm once commented something along the lines that the restaurant Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket had “been around forever,” “probably even when Dottie was ...”. (Id., ¶ 35; Dkt. 47-2, at 4-5, 21:21-25, 22:1-1.) Indeed, Dell Rhea’s had opened in 1947, the same year that Brown was born. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 35.) Brown also says that “if someone is just goofing around, [she] just take[s] it that way.” (Id., ¶ 35; Dkt. 47-2, at 4, 20:11-13.)

C. Veronica Soto’s Roles at DS Services

At the time of Brown’s layoff, Veronica Soto (“Soto”) worked as the second and only other HOD Branch Coordinator at DS Services in Chicago. (Dkt. 47, ¶ 56.) Originally, DS Services hired Soto into a part-time role in 2007 as a Retail Branch Coordinator for the Direct Store Delivery (“DSD”) Department, also referred to as a “DSD Clerk.” (Id., ¶ 57.) As her primary duty as a DSD Clerk, Soto made about 60-100 calls per day and spent 90-95% of her time talking to DSD customers on the phone about their orders. (Id.,

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246 F. Supp. 3d 1206, 2017 WL 1178229, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47487, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-ds-services-of-america-inc-ilnd-2017.