Clee v. MVM, Inc.

91 F. Supp. 3d 54, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29387, 2015 WL 1055820
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedMarch 10, 2015
DocketC.A. No. 13-11829-MLW
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 91 F. Supp. 3d 54 (Clee v. MVM, 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
Clee v. MVM, Inc., 91 F. Supp. 3d 54, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29387, 2015 WL 1055820 (D. Mass. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WOLF, District Judge.

I. SUMMARY

Plaintiff Alan Clee filed a class action complaint in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts against his former employer, Defendant MVM, Inc. (“MVM”). MVM contracts with the federal government to provide security at federal installations. Clee alleges that MVM failed to pay him and other security guards for the 10 to 15 minutes they were required to be at work before and after each shift in violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148 (the “Wage Act”). MVM removed this case to federal court based on complete pre-emption under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185 (the “LMRA”), and under the Federal Officer Removal Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442. MVM moved to dismiss on the grounds of complete pre-emption. Clee filed a motion to remand.

As explained below, the case was properly removed and, therefore, Clee’s motion to remand is being denied. MVM’s motion to dismiss is meritorious because under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”), Clee’s Wage Act claim is arbitra-ble. Therefore, the case is being dismissed.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Facts and Procedural History

On July 3, 2013, Clee filed a class action complaint against MVM in the Suffolk County Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“Compl.”). According to the Complaint,1 MVM is “a federal contractor of security services.” ¶ 1. During the relevant time period, MVM contracted with the government to provide security at Boston’s John F. Kennedy Federal Building (the “JFK Building”), as well [57]*57as at other federal installations in Boston and around Massachusetts Id., ¶ 5.

Clee worked as a security officer for MVM between November 2001 and May 31, 2013, at the JFK Building. Id., ¶ 6-7. Clee asserts that he and his fellow employees “were required to arrive at work ten to fifteen minutes before each shift to have sufficient time to travel to the locker room, change into uniform, arm themselves, retrieve log books, and walk to their posts.” Id., ¶ 8. In addition, they were required to “fill out a sign-in form” that asked for their “arrival time as well as [their] shift time.” Id., ¶¶ 9, 11 (emphasis in original). They had to do the same at the end of their shifts, but in reverse. Id., ¶¶ 10-11. MVM did not include this additional time when calculating employees’ payable hours, even though employees “were required to perform these pre-shift and post-shift duties to be able to adequately meet MVM’s expectations.” Id., ¶ 12.

Clee’s first claim is based on Wage Act for failure to pay wages for pre-shift and post-shift duties. Compl. at 5. His second claim is for unjust enrichment because he and others were required to “relinquish a portion of their wages.” Id.

MVM timely filed a notice of removal (the “Notice of Removal”). Its first ground for removal is complete pre-emption under § 301 of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C. § 185. Notice of Removal, 16-19. Its second ground is the Federal Officer Removal Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a).2 Notice of Removal, ¶ 24-37. MVM also filed a motion to dismiss. Clee filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss and a motion to remand. MVM subsequently filed an opposition to Clee’s motion to remand and a reply to Clee’s opposition to MVM’s motion to dismiss.

B. The Collective Bargaining Agreement

The parties agree that a CBA governed their employment relationship and have provided relevant excerpts of it to the court.3 The CBA contains a section on grievances. CBA Art. 7. A “grievance” refers to “a claimed violation, misinterpretation or misapplication of any provision of [the CBA].” CBA Art. 7(A). It provides that “[a]ll grievances shall be presented and processed” according to a specified procedure. CBA Art. 7(C).

The third step of the grievance procedure is arbitration. See CBA Art. 7(C)(3). However, “[n]o grievance regarding a dispute as to the interpretation of a Wage Determination, the interpretation of the Employer’s Contract(s) with the Government, or the Employer’s adherence to a written request of the Government, shall be processed to [arbitration] because those matters are not arbitrable.” CBA Art. 7(C)(5). Under the CBA, the arbitrator cannot “modify the terms” of the CBA, or “interpret or apply law, including but not limited to the requirement of the Service Contract Act and implications of Wage [58]*58Determinations as well as any other legal obligation referred to in [the CBA].” CBA Art. 7(C)(11). The arbitrator’s decisions are final. See CBA Art. 7(0(12).

The CBA also provides that a normal workweek is 36 hours in 8 or 12-hour shifts. See CBA Art. 10(A); but see Compl. ¶ 8 (“security officers ... worked assigned shifts of eight or ten hours”). Employees are entitled to overtime pay of 1.5 times their base pay “for all hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours in a workweek.” CBA Art. 10(B). Employees must use a manual or electronic attendance system to sign in and out. CBA Art. 10(E).

Finally, the CBA has a “Government Supremacy” provision, which states that “the Government has broad discretion to direct the activities of [MVM] within the scope of the contract. In that regard, the Government may supersede any understanding of the parties hereto regarding assignments, hours, shifts, credentials, qualifications, and any other operational issue, ... and there shall be no recourse against [MVM] regarding such actions or their compliance with such directives.” CBA Art. 22(A).

III. THE MOTION TO REMAND

A. Legal Standard

A defendant in a cause of action in state court may remove the case to a United States District Court if the federal court would “have original jurisdiction.” 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). Therefore, removal is authorized where there is, among other things, federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Removal on federal question grounds is ordinarily appropriate only where the plaintiffs well-pleaded complaint establishes a basis for federal jurisdiction. See, e.g., Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Taylor, 481 U.S. 58, 63, 107 S.Ct. 1542, 95 L.Ed.2d 55 (1987). In other words, if the plaintiff does not assert a federal claim, removal is usually impermissible. See Beneficial Nat’l Bank v. Anderson, 539 U.S. 1, 6, 123 S.Ct. 2058, 156 L.Ed.2d 1 (2003).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
91 F. Supp. 3d 54, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29387, 2015 WL 1055820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clee-v-mvm-inc-mad-2015.