Brown v. United States

28 Fed. Cl. 141, 1993 U.S. Claims LEXIS 12, 1993 WL 120658
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedApril 20, 1993
DocketNo. 91-1104C
StatusPublished

This text of 28 Fed. Cl. 141 (Brown v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. United States, 28 Fed. Cl. 141, 1993 U.S. Claims LEXIS 12, 1993 WL 120658 (uscfc 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

SMITH, Chief Judge.

This case involves claims for backpay allegedly owed as a result of the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) failure to pay plaintiffs standby sta[142]*142tus compensation between June 7,1979 and June 6, 1985. Presently before the court is the government’s Motion for Summary Judgment. After careful examination of the legal issues before it,1 the court grants the government’s motion as it applies to all FLSA claims and to all FEPA claims accruing prior to March 12, 1984.

FACTS

During the period for which they seek backpay, plaintiffs were employed as emergency medical ambulance drivers by the Public Health Service Indian Hospital in Schurz, Nevada. As part of their employment duties, plaintiffs were required to remain on standby during scheduled rotating periods.2 At all times during their scheduled rotations, plaintiffs were required, among other things, to be available to report for duty to the hospital within a short period of time,3 to do so in suitable attire to perform work, and to carry an electronic paging device. Plaintiffs contend that they were on “standby status” within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. §§ 5544(a) and 5545(c)(1) (1980) during their scheduled rotations and therefore were eligible for premium pay under the Federal Employee Pay Act (FEPA). FEPA provides:

an employee in a position requiring him regularly to remain at, or within the confines of his station during longer than ordinary periods of duty, a substantial part of which consists of remaining in a standby status rather than performing work, shall receive premium pay for this duty.

5 U.S.C. § 5545(c)(1). Plaintiffs were not paid additional compensation for their scheduled rotations beyond their regular wages from the inception of their employment4 until June 6, 1985.5

On February 4, 1986, plaintiffs filed claims with the Service Unit Director of the Schurz Hospital seeking compensation for the period they were not paid for standby status duties. Plaintiffs based their claims on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 207. In their claim, however, plaintiffs erroneously cited as FLSA the relevant statutory provisions of FEPA, 5 U.S.C. § 5541, et seq. HHS denied plaintiffs’ claims on July 3, 1986 and forwarded them to the General Accounting Office (GAO) for consideration.

From plaintiffs’ claim, GAO discerned that plaintiffs were seeking relief under both FLSA and FEPA. On February 11, 1988, GAO denied plaintiffs’ claims for unpaid standby status compensation under FEPA. GAO informed plaintiffs that their FLSA claims should be submitted directly to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for consideration. OPM denied plaintiffs’ FLSA claims on July 10, 1989.

On March 12, 1990, plaintiffs sought relief in the United States District Court for [143]*143the District of Nevada, claiming they were due compensation for standby status under FLSA, but again erroneously cited the statutory provisions of FEPA. The district court transferred the case to this court on January 16, 1991 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631 (1992). Plaintiffs based their claims in this court on FLSA, but once again cited the relevant statutory provisions of FEPA: “This is an action alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act for standby duty, 5 U.S.C. Section 5541, et seq. ...”6

DISCUSSION

In its Motion for Summary Judgment, the government argues that plaintiffs’ claims under FLSA are barred by the two-year statute of limitations set forth in 29 U.S.C. § 255(a) as plaintiffs filed their complaint ten years after the accrual of their claims. In regard to FEPA, the government argues that plaintiffs have not properly asserted claims under that statute. The government accordingly contends that the court must disregard these FEPA claims and grant the government full summary judgment on the basis of plaintiffs’ untimely filing of its FLSA claims. Alternatively, the government argues that if the court finds that plaintiffs do have colorable claims under FEPA, the government is entitled to summary judgment as to all FEPA claims accruing prior to March 12,1984, i.e. those claims falling outside the six-year statute of limitations for filing suit in the United States Court of Federal Claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 2501 (1992); Acton v. United States, 21 Cl.Ct. 214, 215 (1990), rev’d on other grounds, 932 F.2d 1464 (Fed.Cir. 1991) (“Title 5 ... claims are subject to the court’s six-year limitations period.”).

Plaintiffs concede, as they must, that their FLSA claims are invalid because they fall outside the FLSA two-year statute of limitations.7 Plaintiffs argue, however, that they asserted valid FEPA claims in their complaint as they cited the applicable provisions of that statute for seeking back-pay, 5 U.S.C. §§ 5541(a) and 5545(c)(1). Plaintiffs thus contend that those claims accruing after March 12, 1984 remain timely as a matter of law. Hence, both parties agree that only the post-March 12, 1984 claims are at issue in this case.

In order to prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the movant must prove the absence of any genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Pender Peanut Corp. v. United States, 20 Cl.Ct. 447, 451 (1990). In this case, there is no dispute as to any material fact as the parties are in agreement as to all facts pertinent to the government’s motion. Summary judgment is therefore appropriate because the government has established, and plaintiffs have conceded, that the government is entitled to judgment on the statute of limitations issues before the court. Acton, 21 Cl.Ct. at 218.

The court is thus left to decide whether plaintiffs have asserted claims arising only under FLSA, or claims arising under both FLSA and FEPA.8 If plaintiffs do not have valid FEPA claims, then the government is entitled to full summary judgment as plaintiffs’ FLSA claims clearly fall outside the FLSA statute of limitations. If plaintiffs do have valid FEPA claims, then the government is entitled to summary judgment only as to those claims accruing prior to March 12, 1984.

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Related

Conley v. Gibson
355 U.S. 41 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Mark Acton and 579 Other Named v. The United States
932 F.2d 1464 (Federal Circuit, 1991)
Agner v. United States
8 Cl. Ct. 635 (Court of Claims, 1985)
Nerseth v. United States
17 Cl. Ct. 660 (Court of Claims, 1989)
Pender Peanut Corp. v. United States
20 Cl. Ct. 447 (Court of Claims, 1990)
Acton v. United States
21 Cl. Ct. 214 (Court of Claims, 1990)

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Bluebook (online)
28 Fed. Cl. 141, 1993 U.S. Claims LEXIS 12, 1993 WL 120658, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-united-states-uscfc-1993.