Cerrillo v. Esparza

142 P.3d 155
Washington Supreme Court·Decided August 31, 2006·No. 77283-5·Published·Cited by 149 cases

Opinion

142 P.3d 155 (2006)

Jesse CERRILLO, Guadalupe Solis, Angel Diaz, Alfredo Beltran, and Jose Saucedo, Respondents,
v.
Cipriano ESPARZA and Jane Doe Esparza, a marital community, and Esparza Trucking, Inc., Petitioners.

No. 77283-5.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued May 18, 2006.
Decided August 31, 2006.

*156 Ryan Mark Edgley, Edgley & Beattle, Yakima, for Petitioner/Appellants.

Blanca E. Rodriguez, NW Justice Project, Yakima, for Appellee/Respondents.

Jay Douglas Geck, Office of Attorney General, Olympia, Amanda J. Goss, Office of Attorney General, Seattle, for Amicus Curiae Department of Labor and Industries.

Kenneth James Pedersen, Seattle, Neil I. Ditchek, Sarah Riger, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

William Joel Rutzick, David N. Mark, Schroeter Goldmark & Bender, Jesse Andrew Wing, MacDonald Hoague & Bayless, Seattle, for Amicus Curiae Washington Employment Lawyers and for Amicus Curiae Washington State Labor Council.

Brendan Victor Monahan, Velikanje Moore & Shore PS, Yakima, for Amicus Curiae Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association.

FAIRHURST, J.

¶ 1 Petitioners, Esparza Truck, Inc., and its owners (Esparza),[1] challenge a Court of Appeals decision affirming a grant of partial summary judgment to the respondent truck drivers (truckers) for unpaid overtime wages under the Washington Minimum Wage Act (MWA), chapter 49.46 RCW. Esparza asserts that the plain language of RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)(ii), part of the MWA, exempts the company from the requirement to pay overtime wages because the truckers transport agricultural commodities. Esparza argues that because the plain language of the statute is not ambiguous, it was improper for the Court of Appeals to consider an informal agency interpretation of the statute and to employ other methods of statutory construction in affirming the grant of partial summary judgment. The truckers argue that RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)(ii) is ambiguous and that deferral to the Department of Labor and Industries' (DLI) interpretation was proper.

¶ 2 We hold that RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)(ii) is not ambiguous and that the plain language of the statute renders the truckers exempt from the overtime wage requirement. Because the statute is not ambiguous, it was improper for the Court of Appeals to defer to DLI's interpretation of the statute. Therefore, we reverse the grant of partial summary judgment affirmed by the Court of Appeals and remand this case for further proceedings.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 3 Neither Esparza nor the truckers dispute the material facts of this case. Esparza *157 Truck, Inc., maintained contracts to haul agricultural commodities—potatoes for Twin City Foods and apples and asparagus for Baker Produce. From 1998 until 2001, Esparza employed the truckers to pick up the agricultural commodities from locations in the Columbia Basin and haul them to Twin City Foods and Baker Produce, who packaged and shipped them.[2] Esparza admits that the truckers worked more than 40 hours per week and that the company did not pay them overtime. Esparza also admits that the company did not grow the agricultural commodities the truckers transported. In January 2002, DLI issued a policy statement that interpreted RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)(ii) as applying only to individuals who work "for an employer who actually produces the products." Br. of Resp'ts, App. 6, at 8.

¶ 4 The truckers filed a claim against Esparza for unpaid overtime wages and breach of contract. The trial court granted the truckers' subsequent motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of unpaid overtime wages and awarded the truckers double damages. Esparza appealed and the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court, with one judge dissenting. Cerrillo v. Esparza, 126 Wash.App. 723, 109 P.3d 475 (2005). In its decision, the court deferred to DLI's interpretation of RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)(ii), which construed the statute to apply only to employees working directly for farmers. Id. at 727-28, 109 P.3d 475. We granted Esparza's subsequent petition for review. Cerrillo v. Esparza, 156 Wash.2d 1010, 132 P.3d 146 (2006).

II. ISSUE

¶ 5 Whether the plain language of RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)(ii) exempts the truckers from the overtime wage requirement.

III. ANALYSIS

Standard of Review

¶ 6 Esparza contends that, under RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)(ii), the truckers were exempt from the overtime wage requirement and that the Court of Appeals erred by affirming the trial court's order granting the truckers partial summary judgment for unpaid overtime wages. This court reviews issues of statutory interpretation de novo. Agrilink Foods, Inc. v. Dep't of Revenue, 153 Wash.2d 392, 396, 103 P.3d 1226 (2005). We also review orders granting summary judgment de novo. Drinkwitz v. Alliant Techsystems, Inc., 140 Wash.2d 291, 295, 996 P.2d 582 (2000) (citing Marquis v. City of Spokane, 130 Wash.2d 97, 104-05, 922 P.2d 43 (1996)). Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. Here, there are no genuine issues of material fact because Esparza concedes that the truckers worked more than 40 hours per week and that the company did not pay the truckers overtime wages. We need consider only whether the truckers were exempt from the overtime wage requirement as a matter of law.

A. Plain language analysis reveals RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)(ii) is not ambiguous

¶ 7 RCW 49.46.130(1), part of Washington's MWA, outlines the general requirement that employers must pay overtime wages:

Except as otherwise provided in this section, no employer shall employ any of his employees for a work week longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.

RCW 49.46.130(2) contains the exceptions to this general rule, including an exemption for "[a]ny individual employed ...

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Cerrillo v. Esparza, 142 P.3d 155 (Wash. 2006).

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