Marcie Redgrave v. Doug Ducey

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: September 15, 2021
• Docket: 18-17150
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION SEP 15 2021 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

MARCIE A. REDGRAVE, individually and No. 18-17150 on behalf of all others similarly situated, D.C. No. 2:18-cv-01247-DLR Plaintiff-Appellant,

v. MEMORANDUM*

DOUG DUCEY, Governor; JAMI SNYDER, in her official capacity as Director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System; ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC SECURITY; ARIZONA DIVISION OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES,

Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Douglas L. Rayes, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted February 4, 2020 Submission Withdrawn March 25, 2020 Resubmitted September 13, 2021 Phoenix, Arizona

Before: O’SCANNLAIN, GRABER, and MILLER, Circuit Judges.

Marcie Redgrave appeals the dismissal of her complaint. The district court

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ruled that the state of Arizona did not waive its sovereign immunity from Fair

Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims. As the facts are known to the parties, we

repeat them only as necessary to explain our decision.

Unsure if Arizona consented to damages liability for a State agency’s

violation of the minimum wage or overtime provisions of the FLSA, we certified

the matter to the Arizona Supreme Court. Redgrave v. Ducey, 953 F.3d 1123 (9th

Cir. 2020). In answering our question, the court noted that “[t]he Arizona

Constitution gives the legislature the authority to waive Arizona’s sovereign

immunity.” Redgrave v. Ducey, No. CV-20-0082-CQ, 2021 WL 3673222, at *1

(Ariz. Aug. 19, 2021). However, because “the legislature has not unequivocally

consented to federal damages liability,” the court held that “Arizona has not

consented to . . . liability under the FLSA.” Id.

In light of the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision, we conclude that Arizona

has not abrogated its sovereign immunity against FLSA claims.1

AFFIRMED.

1 Redgrave has waived the argument that Arizona waived its immunity by removing this case to federal court. Indep. Towers of Wash. v. Washington, 350 F.3d 925, 929 (9th Cir. 2003). 2