Finton v. Cleveland Indians Baseball Company LLC

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedFebruary 19, 2021
Docket2:19-cv-02319
StatusUnknown

This text of Finton v. Cleveland Indians Baseball Company LLC (Finton v. Cleveland Indians Baseball Company LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Finton v. Cleveland Indians Baseball Company LLC, (D. Ariz. 2021).

Opinion

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

9 Jenae Finton, et al., No. CV-19-02319-PHX-MTL

10 Plaintiffs, ORDER

11 v.

12 Cleveland Indians Baseball Company LLC, et al., 13 Defendants. 14 15 The Court now addresses the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment (Docs. 16 56, 58). These motions are fully briefed and were discussed at oral argument. The Court 17 now resolves these motions as follows. 18 I. BACKGROUND 19 Plaintiff Jenae Finton began working for Defendant Cleveland Indians Baseball Co., 20 LLC (the “Club”) as a part-time employee in November 2015. (Doc. 59, Plaintiffs’ 21 Statement of Facts (“PSOF”) ¶ 1.) Ms. Finton was an “Assistant, Arizona Operations” for 22 the Club’s Arizona spring training facility, a nonexempt position under the Fair Labor 23 Standards Act (“FLSA”). (Id. ¶¶ 1–2.) In this position, Ms. Finton’s wages were $14.00 24 per hour in 2017 and $16.00 per hour in 2018. (Id. ¶ 4.) Ms. Finton reported directly to 25 Defendant Ryan Lantz––the Director of Arizona Operations.1 (Id. ¶ 2.) Mr. Lantz’s 26 supervisor, Jerry Crabb, works in the Club’s main office in Cleveland, Ohio. (Id. ¶ 3.) 27 The job duties that Mr. Lantz assigned to Ms. Finton included “participating on

28 1 Ms. Finton also filed this lawsuit against Mr. Lantz’s wife, Mrs. Lisa Lantz. (Doc. 24 ¶ 8.) 1 various non-profit boards, working with local charities to coordinate fund-raisers, 2 arranging and staffing player events and outings, working with vendors and business 3 contacts to ensure the Club facilities were maintained, ordering necessary supplies, and 4 scheduling security staff and interns.” (Id. ¶ 10.) Ms. Finton also, many times, had to 5 “perform nightly walk-through’s [sic] of the Club’s facilities, which involved setting the 6 alarm, walking the property, and making sure doors were closed and locked” when Mr. 7 Lantz was unavailable. (Id. ¶¶ 17–19.) Mr. Lantz provided Mr. Crabb with a detailed 8 “Year-Round Job Responsibilities” outline for Ms. Finton in May 2018, which outline 9 these same job duties and several others. (Doc. 59-2 at 38–39.) Ms. Finton’s participation 10 in these activities and organizations was at Mr. Lantz’s request and benefitted the Club. 11 (PSOF ¶ 21.) Given the amount of job duties and activities Ms. Finton dealt with, she 12 “normally did not take a lunch period and ate at her desk while working.” (Id. ¶ 23.) 13 The Club used a computer-based system called “ABI” to record time or hours 14 worked by Club employees throughout Ms. Finton’s employment. (Doc. 57, Defendant’s 15 Statement of Facts (“DSOF”) ¶ 7.)2 The ABI system could record employees’ hours in two 16 ways: (1) by an employee physically scanning their badge at the Club’s facility to clock in 17 and clock out, and (2) by an employee remotely accessing the ABI system on a computer 18 and reporting through ABI’s “timekeeping or time-recording function.” (Id. ¶¶ 8–14.) Ms. 19 Finton used both ways to record her hours at times and was trained on the ABI timekeeping 20 system, which was “very simple and easy to use.” (Id. ¶¶ 15, 23.) When the Club 21 temporarily relocated its staff to the Goodyear Ballpark while its facilities were being 22 renovated in June 2017, the physical timeclock was not moved, and employees were told 23 to use the online reporting method.3 (PSOF ¶¶ 27–28.) Ms. Finton then struggled to log her 24 hours online because of internet connection issues. (Id. ¶ 29.) Ms. Finton therefore began 25 reporting her hours directly to Mr. Lantz, who then inputted her hours into ABI. (Id. ¶ 29.) 26 Mr. Lantz and Ms. Finton had in-person meetings frequently to input, and have Mr. Lantz

27 2 The Club also used a “computer-based system” called “UltiPro,” which contained employees’ payroll information, paystubs, and sick and paid time off data. (DSOF ¶¶ 47– 28 48.) All Club employees could access and print this information. (Id. ¶ 49.) 3 The Club’s regular operations are also in Goodyear, Arizona. (Doc. 59-1 at 15.) 1 approve, her time into ABI. (Id. ¶ 30.) 2 Even when the Club finished its renovation and moved back to its facilities, Ms. 3 Finton “continued her practice of providing hours to [Mr.] Lantz either orally or in 4 writing.” (Id. ¶ 31.) Although Ms. Finton used the in-person timeclock sporadically, she 5 continued this practice because “she was frequently away from her desk” on Club business. 6 (Id.) This practice of reporting her hours to Mr. Lantz was “either through email, a hand- 7 written note, or orally” in their meetings. (Id. ¶ 33.) Mr. Lantz did not, nor did any other 8 Club employee, “discipline[] or counsel[]” Ms. Finton for using this method to enter her 9 time or for failing to use the ABI timeclock. (Id. ¶ 35.) Mr. Lantz had knowledge from 10 emails and time-approval meetings that Ms. Finton was working overtime hours during 11 several weeks. (See, e.g., id. ¶¶ 49; Doc. 59-3 at 10–11, 36–42.) Mr. Lantz also knew that 12 Ms. Finton used her personal phone off-premises for work matters on several occasions 13 and thought it was “essential” for her to do so. (Doc. 59-3 at 2.) Even the Club’s Human 14 Resource Department acknowledged that there could be a potential “compliance issue” 15 with Ms. Finton continuing to work on her personal phone off-premises because that time 16 would be difficult to track and compensate. (Id.) 17 Ms. Finton took an unpaid vacation in July 2018 but worked several times during 18 that trip. (Id. ¶¶ 73–75.) Ms. Finton emailed Mr. Lantz about player appearances that would 19 occur during her vacation, Mr. Lantz emailed her requesting more information, to which 20 she responded, and Mr. Lantz also called her three times to discuss work matters during 21 that vacation. (Id. ¶¶ 73–78.) Ms. Finton was not paid for the two total hours she worked 22 during that vacation. (Id. ¶ 79.) 23 In late December 2018, Ms. Finton emailed Mr. Lantz with the hours that she 24 worked during part of December, which included several hours of overtime. (Id. ¶¶ 36– 25 38.) Although Mr. Lantz acknowledged receipt of Ms. Finton’s hours, Mr. Lantz was soon 26 thereafter placed on administrative leave and did not input her time. (Id. ¶ 39.) This caused 27 Ms. Finton’s “next paycheck to be short.” (Id.) Ms. Finton then contacted Mr. Crabb about 28 her paycheck issue and Mr. Crabb “questioned her hours.” (Id. ¶¶ 40–41.) Ms. Finton 1 explained her hours, asked to provide Mr. Crabb with more information to get paid for all 2 her hours worked, and tried, unsuccessfully, to call Mr. Crabb twice to discuss the issue 3 further. (Id. ¶¶ 41–42.) Mr. Crabb then emailed Ms. Finton stating that the hours she 4 provided “would total more than 40 hours for a work week. As we try to sort through this, 5 we are prepared to pay you for 8 hours for each day that you did not clock in and out 6 properly in this and the prior pay periods.” (Id. ¶ 43.) Ms. Finton did not receive overtime 7 pay for her work in December and resigned her employment with the Club in January 2019. 8 (Id. ¶¶ 44–46; Doc. 59-1 at 7.) Ms. Finton then discovered that Mr. Lantz “altered or failed 9 to correctly record and pay time to” her on numerous occasions. (PSOF ¶ 49.) Mr. Lantz 10 “never told” her that he “reduced her hours, disagreed with her reported time, or disciplined 11 her for failing to use the timeclock.” (Id. ¶ 50.) 12 A review of Ms. Finton’s timeclock entries, emails to Mr. Lantz, personal 13 recollection, and payroll records revealed that many more of her hours reported to Mr. 14 Lantz or the Club were “altered” or recorded incorrectly. (See id. ¶¶ 49, 51–85.) In 15 February 2018, for example, Ms. Finton helped the Club prepare and host a golf event. (Id. 16 ¶ 51; see also Doc. 59-3 at 34.) Ms. Finton worked 9.5 hours on Monday, February 19, 17 2018, to prepare for the upcoming golf event. (Doc. 59-3 at 28.) The next day, she reported 18 working for 11.5 hours, but Mr.

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Finton v. Cleveland Indians Baseball Company LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/finton-v-cleveland-indians-baseball-company-llc-azd-2021.