Doyle v. City of New York

91 F. Supp. 3d 480, 24 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1297, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26440, 2015 WL 926001
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 4, 2015
DocketNo. 14-CV-2831 (JMF)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 91 F. Supp. 3d 480 (Doyle v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doyle v. City of New York, 91 F. Supp. 3d 480, 24 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1297, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26440, 2015 WL 926001 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JESSE M. FURMAN, District Judge:

This case presents a question that appears to be of first impression: whether someone who performs community service as a condition of an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (“ACD”) of criminal charges qualifies as an “employee” for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA” or “Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. Plaintiffs Aidan Doyle, Michael Smith, and William Paybarah, each of whom performed such service for the City [482]*482of New York (the “City”) in exchange for dismissal of minor criminal charges pending in state court, argue that they did qualify as employees and, thus, were entitled to receive the federal minimum wage for their service. Moving to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the City argues otherwise, contending that Plaintiffs did not qualify as employees or that they fit within a statutory exemption for -“volunteers.” Although the Court agrees with Plaintiffs that they were not volunteers within the meaning of the FLSA, it ultimately concludes that they were not covered as employees either, and thus grants the City’s motion to dismiss.

BACKGROUND

The following facts, taken from the Amended Complaint, are assumed to be true for the purposes of this motion. See, e.g., Gonzalez v. Hasty, 651 F.3d 318, 321 (2d Cir.2011).

New York State Criminal Procedure Law (“NYCPL”) permits a court, prior to a guilty plea or commencement of trial, and with the consent of both parties, to grant an “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal” — or ACD — for actions involving minor criminal offenses. NYCPL § 170.55(l)-(2). The court may impose various conditions on the defendant. Most relevant for purposes of this case, the court may “require the defendant to perform services for a public or not-for-profit corporation, association, institution or agency,” so long as the defendant “has consented to the amount and conditions of such service.” Id. § 170.55(6). If, after six months, the defendant is not arrested again and complies with the court’s conditions, including any service requirement, the charges are dismissed and sealed — for all intents and purposes, the same result as if the defendant had been tried and acquitted. See id. § 170.55(2), (8). See generally Smith v. Bank of Am. Corp., 865 F.Supp.2d 298, 302 (E.D.N.Y.2012).

Plaintiffs in this case faced prosecution for relatively minor offenses between 2012 and 2014. Doyle was charged with jumping a subway turnstile. (Am. Compl. (Docket No. 13) ¶ 25). Smith was charged with speeding and possessing a “gravity knife,” in violation of Section 265.00 of the New York Penal Law. (Id. ¶ 30). Payba-rah was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he was stopped for running a red light on a bicycle. (Id. ¶¶ 37-38). All three were granted ACDs, pursuant to which they were required to perform community service — namely, collecting garbage and cleaning up parks and bridges around the City. (Id. ¶¶ 27-28, 32-33, 39-40). They agreed to the ACDs at least in part because doing so allowed them to avoid criminal convictiohs; according to the Amended Complaint, they were not motivated by any civic, charitable, or humanitarian purpose. (Id. ¶¶ 9, 26-27, 32, 39).

Although all three Plaintiffs performed at least part of their required community service, they were not paid for doing so. (Id. ¶¶ 18, 28, 33, 40). As of the filing of the Amended Complaint, the criminal charges against Doyle and Smith had been dismissed. (Id. ¶¶ 29, 36).1 The Amended Complaint does not indicate the status of the charges against Paybarah, presumably because the six-month adjournment period had not elapsed at the time the Amended Complaint was filed. (Id. ¶ 37).

[483]*483LEGAL STANDARD

A motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) challenges the sufficiency of the allegations in a complaint. See ATSI Commc’ns, Inc. v. Shaar Fund, Ltd., 493 F.3d 87, 98 (2d Cir.2007). To survive such a motion, a complaint must, as a general matter, “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim is facially plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). More specifically, the plaintiff must allege sufficient facts to show “more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. If the plaintiff has not “nudged [his or her] claims across the line from conceivable to plausible, [the] complaint must be dismissed.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

DISCUSSION

A. The FLSA and Applicable Regulations

The FLSA, enacted in 1938, requires the payment of minimum and overtime wages to anyone qualifying as an “employee” within the meaning of the statute. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 203(e), 206(a), 207(a). Quite unhelpfully, the FLSA defines an “employee” as “‘any individual employed by an employer’ and an ‘employer’ includes ‘any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee.’ ” Dejesus v. HF Mgmt. Servs., LLC, 726 F.3d 85, 90 (2d Cir.2013) (quoting 29 U.S.C. § 203(d), (e)(1)). The Act also defines “employ” as to “suffer or permit to work.” 29 U.S.C. § 203(g). These circular definitions aside, it has long been understood that Congress intended for the term “employee,” and thus the reach of the Act, to be construed broadly. The Supreme Court, for example, has noted the “striking breadth” of the term. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318, 326, 112 S.Ct. 1344, 117 L.Ed.2d 581 (1992). And the Second Circuit has observed that the FLSA provides “the broadest definition of ‘employ’ that has ever been included in any one act.” Zheng v. Liberty Apparel Co., Inc., 355 F.3d 61, 69 (2d Cir.2003).

At the same time, “employee” is not a term of unlimited reach. See Dejesus, 726 F.3d at 91. In Walling v. Portland Terminal Company, for example, the Supreme Court concluded that the FLSA does not extend to persons “who, without promise or expectation of compensation, but solely for ...

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

Related

Clancy v. The Salvation Army
N.D. Illinois, 2023
Rahman v. Limani 51, LLC
S.D. New York, 2022
Berger v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n
843 F.3d 285 (Seventh Circuit, 2016)
Friedrich v. South County Hospital Healthcare System
221 F. Supp. 3d 240 (D. Rhode Island, 2016)
Roberts v. Gwinnett County
225 F. Supp. 3d 1400 (N.D. Georgia, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
91 F. Supp. 3d 480, 24 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1297, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26440, 2015 WL 926001, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doyle-v-city-of-new-york-nysd-2015.