Kilcrease-Tiger v. Welspun Pipes Inc

• Court: District Court, E.D. Arkansas
• Decided: October 27, 2020
• Docket: 4:19-cv-00798
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS CENTRAL DIVISION

MARK KILCREASE-TIGER, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated PLAINTIFF

v. No. 4:19-cv-798-DPM

WELSPUN PIPES, INC.; WELSPUN TUBULAR, LLC; and WELSPUN USA, INC. DEFENDANTS

ORDER 1. Welspun manufactures high-grade line pipe at a facility in Little Rock, Arkansas. This pipe is used to carry oil, gas, sand-oil, water, and other materials. Kilcrease-Tiger worked this facility for around ten months as a quality control supervisor. He alleges that Welspun wrongly exempted him from overtime pay; Welspun says it classified him correctly, and seeks summary judgment. The Court takes the material facts, where genuinely disputed, in Kilcrease-Tiger’s favor. Oglesby v. Lesan, 929 F.3d 526, 532 (8th Cir. 2019). 2. Under federal and state labor laws, employees typically receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of forty per week. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1); ARK. CODE ANN. § 11-4-211(a). But, some categories of employees are exempted from this requirement, including “any employee in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional

capacity....” 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1); see also ARK. CODE ANN. § 11-4- 211(d) (incorporating FLSA’s exemptions). Welspun argues that either the administrative exemption or the executive exemption applies to Kilcrease-Tiger. 3. Acknowledging that he meets the salary-basis requirement of the administrative exemption, 29 C.F.R. § 541.200(a)(1), Kilcrease-Tiger contends that he doesn’t satisfy the second or third requirements. The second requirement is about the core of the employee’s work. It asks whether Kilcrease-Tiger’s “primary duty is the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer's customers.” 29 C.F.R. § 541.200(a)(2); see also 29 C.F.R. § 541.201. Kilcrease-Tiger’s main duties revolved around quality control and supervising personnel, which the regulations specifically recognize as exempt duties. 29 C.F.R. § 541.201(b). Kilcrease-Tiger urges that his actual work was different. He testified on deposition that his department was often short-handed, which meant he did hands-on quality control work an average of two to three hours during every twelve-hour shift. Doc. 18-1 at 28 & 30. Sometimes he did this work for the entire shift. Ibid. But even assuming that the quality control linework Kilcrease-Tiger identifies is “manual labor” as understood by the regulations, the record shows his primary duties were administrative. Doing an average of two to three hours of

~2-

linework per twelve-hour shift, plus the occasional full shift, isn’t enough to make line quality control work his primary duty. 29 C.F.R. § 541.700(a)-(b). And Kilcrease-Tiger’s efforts to categorize his other duties as manual labor are unconvincing. Two of Kilcrease-Tiger’s quality control supervisor peers testified by affidavit that they don’t usually do manual labor, except for the occasional fill-in for less than an hour. Instead, they spend nearly all their time managing and checking others’ work. Doc. 18-3 at 2-3; Doc. 18-4 at 2-3. Ensuring the quality of Welspun’s pipe is directly related to Welspun’s general business operations. 29 C.F.R. § 541.200(2). On this record, Kilcrease- Tiger satisfies the second requirement of the administrative exemption. 29 C.F.R. § 541.200(a)(2). The third requirement is about how much leeway the employee has in his job. It asks whether Kilcrease-Tiger’s “primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.” 29 C.F.R. § 541.200(a)(3); see also 29 C.F.R. § 541.202. Kilcrease-Tiger exercised discretion and independent judgment in supervising personnel in the important work of checking this pipe. He did so in several ways: e assigning staff to various tasks to keep things running; e recommending terminations or promotions; e writing up or sending home employees for performance issues; and e ensuring that employees on his shifts accurately tested pipe.

~3-

And Kilcrease-Tiger exercised discretion and independent judgment in quality control. He did so in these ways: e ensuring all planned production, inspection, and _ testing occurred; e ensuring the pipe met or exceeded standards; and e maintaining responsibility for his shift’s productivity. Notably, Kilcrease-Tiger did all these quality control tasks without direct supervision. He also satisfies the third requirement of the administrative exemption. 29 C.F.R. § 541.200(a)(3). 4. Because the administrative exemption applies to Kilcrease- Tiger, the Court need not decide whether the executive exemption applies. * ke * Welspun’s motion for summary judgment, Doc. 18, is granted. The Court will dismiss Kilcrease-Tiger’s complaint with prejudice. So Ordered.

D.P. Marshall Jr United States District Judge £7 Ovfbu 2020

-4-