Cavallaro v. Umass Memorial Health Care, Inc.

971 F. Supp. 2d 139, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10880, 2013 WL 360405
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedJanuary 28, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 09-40152-FDS
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 971 F. Supp. 2d 139 (Cavallaro v. Umass Memorial Health Care, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cavallaro v. Umass Memorial Health Care, Inc., 971 F. Supp. 2d 139, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10880, 2013 WL 360405 (D. Mass. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON PARTIAL MOTION TO DISMISS

SAYLOR, District Judge.

This is an employment dispute about compensation for extra time worked. Plaintiff Patricia Cavallaro, on behalf of herself and all other employees similarly situated, brought suit against various re[143]*143lated hospitals and health-care providers and two healthcare executives. She contends that defendants employ a variety of policies to deny employees compensation for time worked during meal breaks and before and after shifts. The complaint seeks relief under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.

Pending before the Court are defendants’ motions to dismiss all claims against all defendants except UMass Memorial Medical Center, Inc. and to dismiss or strike collective action allegations.1

I. Background

A. Factual Background

Unless otherwise indicated, all facts are stated as set forth in the complaint.

Plaintiff Patricia Cavallaro worked at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, as an hourly employee from August 2002 until December 2008. (Compl. ¶¶ 10, 101). During that time, she was employed as a registered nurse in the Cardiac Telemetry Unit. (Compl. ¶ 101). She received her paychecks from UMass Memorial Medical Center. (Id.).

Cavallaro purports to represent a class of some 13,000 similarly situated individuals who were not paid by defendants for all the hours they worked. (Compl. ¶¶ 5-6). According to the complaint, this class includes the following hourly employees:

secretaries, housekeepers, custodians, clerks, porters, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, transport nurses, nurse aides, administrative assistants, anesthetists, clinicians, medical coders, medical underwriters, nurse case managers, nurse interns, nurse practitioners, nurse aides, practice supervisors, professional staff nurses, quality coordinators, resource pool nurses, respiratory therapists, senior research associates, operating room coordinators, surgical specialists, admissions officers, student nurse techs, trainers, transcriptionists, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, radiation therapists, staff therapists, angiotechnologists, x-ray technicians, CAT scan technicians, mammographers, MRI technologists, sleep technologists, surgical technologists, radiographers, phlebotomists, respiratory technicians, respiratory care specialists, respiratory care practitioners, clinical coordinators, medical assistants, home care nurses, home health aides, clinical case managers, midwives and other health care workers.

(Compl. ¶ 131).

The complaint alleges that Cavallaro worked time in addition to her scheduled shifts for which she did not receive compensation. For example, Cavallaro performed her regular duties during her meal breaks, without compensation. (Compl. ¶ 101). These duties included charting, responding to codes, answering questions from nurses or physicians, and attending in-service trainings. (Id.). She also worked for approximately 15-30 minutes before each shift, and approximately 30-45 minutes after each shift, without compensation. (Id.). Her tasks during that time included reading and creating charts and [144]*144reports, as well as preparing and distributing medication. (Id.).

Defendants UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc.;' UMass Memorial Hospitals, Inc.; UMass Memorial Medical Center, Inc.; HealthAUiance Hospitals, Inc.; Marlborough Hospital; Clinton Hospital Association; and Wing Memorial Hospital Association are hospitals and health-care providers. According to Cavallaro, they are related organizations with common membership, governing bodies, trustees, officers, and benefit plans. (Compl. ¶ 10).

The complaint' alleges a number of ways in which defendants operate as a cohesive system. The hospitals represent themselves in publications as an integrated health care system. (Compl. ¶ 20). They have centralized financial, payroll, and health records systems (Compl. ¶ 24); use a centralized website for job postings (Compl. ¶ 25); and maintain system-wide employee-benefit plans and human-resources policies (Compl. ¶ 28). In addition, the complaint alleges that a single Board of Trustees oversees the entire system. (Compl. ¶ 80).

According to the complaint, UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc. (“UMMHC”) is the “parent” company of all other corporate defendants. (Compl. ¶ 27). UMMHC’s Form 990 form indicates that the company owns hospital facilities including UMass Memorial Medical Center, Inc.; HealthAUiance Hospital; Marlborough Hospital; Clinton Hospital Association; and Wing Memorial Hospital Corporation. (Compl. ¶ 32).

Defendants John O’Brien and Patricia Webb are executive officers employed by one or more of the defendants. According to the complaint, O’Brien is the President and CEO of “UMass,” a term it defines as describing all corporate defendants collectively. (Compl. ¶ 40). It further alleges that O’Brien has operational control over an integrated health-care system, including all defendants, and makes decisions that concern the policies (including human-resources policies) that the different hospitals adopt and implement. (Compl. ¶¶ 41, 44). It alleges that he has authority to oversee employment decisions, including hiring and firing, and to make decisions concerning employees’ schedules, standard benefit levels, and maintenance of payroll-record systems. (Compl. ¶¶ 52, 56, 64-66).

According to the complaint, defendant Patricia Webb was an executive officer who was employed by one or more of the defendants until 2010. It alleges that Webb was the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of “UMass,” again defined as describing all corporate defendants collectively. (Compl. ¶ 74). It further alleges that she was responsible for and authorized to direct all aspects of human-resources functions for all defendants. (Compl. ¶ 75). It alleges that she counseled defendants on employment decisions, including hiring and firing; helped set employees’ schedules, hours, and standard benefit levels; was actively involved in drafting human-resources policies and overseeing compliance with those policies and with federal law; and had the authority to hire and fire employees. (Compl. ¶¶ 80, 81, 83, 86, 94).

The complaint alleges that defendants violated various statutory duties by faffing to compensate Cavallaro and those similarly situated for all time worked. It alleges two unlawful practices: (1) automatically deducting time from each employee’s paycheck for meal breaks, even if the employee did not actually receive such a break, and (2) faffing to compensate employees for work completed before and after their shifts.

B. Procedural Background

Plaintiff (along with a second named plaintiff, Monique Herman) filed the origi[145]*145nal complaint on September 3, 2009, alleging causes of action under ERISA, RICO, and the FLSA. In July 2010, the Court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the RICO claim. Plaintiffs’ second amended complaint was filed in January 2011.

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971 F. Supp. 2d 139, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10880, 2013 WL 360405, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cavallaro-v-umass-memorial-health-care-inc-mad-2013.