Herman v. Suwannee Swifty Stores, Inc.

19 F. Supp. 2d 1365, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21843, 1998 WL 682118
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 30, 1998
Docket6:95-cv-00068
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 19 F. Supp. 2d 1365 (Herman v. Suwannee Swifty Stores, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Herman v. Suwannee Swifty Stores, Inc., 19 F. Supp. 2d 1365, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21843, 1998 WL 682118 (M.D. Ga. 1998).

Opinion

ORDER

SANDS, District Judge.

The above-styled action ensued when the Secretary of Labor sought to compel the defendant to pay various employees certain amounts allegedly due as unpaid overtime compensation. Presently before the Court are the defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 17) and the plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doe. No. 21). For the reasons below, the defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is hereby denied and the plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is hereby granted.

BACKGROUND

During the period of April 23,1992, to July 8, 1993, (“relevant period”) Suwannee Swifty Stores, Inc., (“Suwannee”) owned and operated a chain of approximately 215 food stores under the name Suwannee Swifty. The stores sold food and household supplies. Some stores had delis and some sold gasoline. Robbins’ Decl. ¶¶ 4, 5. During the relevant period, the managers had one or more clerks. Suwannee paid store clerks on an hourly basis which included overtime’ compensation at the proper rate. Def.’s Ex. 2. Store managers were paid under a different pay plan. From April 1992, through July 1993, 1 the store managers received compensation through commissions representing 11.2% of the store’s sales less the payroll for those clerks who worked at each particular store. Robbins’ Decl. ¶ 3. The plan further provided that if a manager’s computed “commissions” equaled less than $6.38 per hour for all hours worked by the manager in that work week, Suwannee would supplement the manager’s pay to bring it up to $6.38 per hour. Robbins Decl. ¶6; Def.’s Ex. 1. This guaranteed rate of $6.38 approximated one and one half times of the current minimum wage ($4.25). During the relevant period, Suwannee computed “commissions” and paid store managers on a weekly basis. However, according to Plaintiff, Defendant did not pay store managers an additional pay above then-regular rate as overtime for the hours they *1368 worked in excess of forty hours during any workweek. Robbins’ Decl. ¶ 8. Store managers’ duties included transporting checks drawn on out-of-state banks to the local bank and transporting to the post office various cash and sales reports, invoices, and receipts to be mailed to Defendant’s headquarters in Quitman, Georgia. Pi’s Ex. A (Affs. of Mgrs). When transporting such checks and mail, store managers used their personal vehicles.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) reviewed Suwannee’s payrolls in March 1993. Def.’s Ex. 4. Suwannee asserted that it did not need to pay its store managers overtime because it conformed with the requirements of section 7(i) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). 2 The report prepared by Labor Investigator Robbins did not contest that the store managers’ regular rate of pay exceeded one and one-half times the minimum hourly rate. Def.’s Ex. 4. The report also did not contest that more than half of the store managers’ compensation for a representative period represented commissions. Def.’s Ex. 4. While Suwannee submits that it did not violate FLSA, Investigator Robbins concluded that Suwannee did violate FLSA because, under his analysis, the store managers’ commissions seldom exceeded the guarantee and therefore was not a bona fide commission rate. Def. Ex. 4. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant did not obtain an order, ruling, or interpretation from the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor upon which it relied in paying its store managers pursuant to its Store Manager Compensation Plan.

The defendant has moved for summary judgment, contending that it is undisputed that Suwannee clearly met the requirements of the exception. The plaintiff contends that it is entitled to partial summary judgment because Defendant admitted to failing to pay overtime as required under section 7(a) of the Act and the undisputed facts show that Defendant is not entitled to any exception under FLSA.

DISCUSSION

I. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment “shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” The Court is required to “resolve all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of the non-movant, and draw all justifiable inferences in his or her favor.” Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115 (11th Cir.1993) (quotations and citations omitted).

The moving party carries the initial burden of showing that there is an absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The substantive law governing the case determines which facts are material, and “summary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is ‘genuine,’ that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). For issues on which the non-movant bears the burden of proof at trial, the moving party “simply may show — that is, point out to the district court — that there is an absence of evidence to support the non-moving party’s case. Alternatively, the moving party may support its motion for summary judgment with affirmative evidence demonstrating that the non-moving party will be unable to prove its case.” Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1116 (quotations and citations omitted).

If the moving party fails to overcome this initial burden, the Court must deny the motion for summary judgment without considér- *1369 ing any evidence, if any, presented by the non-moving party. Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1116. If, on the other hand, the moving party overcomes this initial burden, then the non-moving party must show the existence of a genuine issue of material fact that remains to be resolved at trial. Id. Moreover, the adverse party may not respond to the motion for summary judgment by summarily denying the allegations set forth by the moving party. Rather, the adverse party “must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. If the adverse party does not so respond, summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be entered against the adverse party.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

II. THE EXEMPTION OF OVERTIME UNDER FLSA § 7(i)

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Bluebook (online)
19 F. Supp. 2d 1365, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21843, 1998 WL 682118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/herman-v-suwannee-swifty-stores-inc-gamd-1998.