McLaughlin v. Murphy

247 F. App'x 430

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: June 29, 2007
• Docket: 05-1955
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Michael McLaughlin appeals a district court order granting summary judgment to his- former employer, Freedmont Mortgage Corporation (Freedmont), and its president, Kevin Murphy, on McLaughlin’s claims for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1988 (FLSA), 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 201-19 (West 1998 & Supp. 2006). We affirm.

I.

McLaughlin was employed by Freedmont as a loan officer from August 2001 to November 2003. In accordance with his employment contract, he was paid on a pure commission basis and earned no regular salary. McLaughlin’s principal job duty was to contact potential clients regarding Freedmont’s “loan products.” Although Freedmont preferred loan officers to meet with clients in person, and provided conference room space for this purpose, loan officers generally solicited clients by telephone and were allowed to mail documents to clients for completion. Because Freedmont provided him with client leads, McLaughlin was required to work one day each week in the office handling incoming telephone calls from potential clients responding to Freedmont’s advertisements. McLaughlin otherwise chose to work from home, where he controlled his daily schedule and the number of hours he worked. He maintained that he typically worked an eight hour day. Because he was not required to report his time to Freedmont, McLaughlin did not keep records of the hours he worked or the potential clients he contacted. Similarly, Freedmont did not supervise his work, maintain records of the hours he worked, or track individuals he contacted when the contact failed to result in a completed loan application.

McLaughlin was terminated in November 2003. He subsequently filed this action, alleging, as is relevant here, violations of the FLSA. McLaughlin claimed that Freedmont failed to pay him any wages for his work, including the statutory minimum wage of $5.15 per hour for eight separate bi-weekly pay periods from 2001 to 2003. See 29 U.S.C.A. § 206(a)(1).

Following discovery, the district court granted summary judgment to Freedmont. The court ruled that McLaughlin was not exempt from the FLSA as an “outside salesman.” Id. § 213(a)(1). The court concluded, however, that McLaughlin had failed to prove that he worked the hours claimed or that he performed work for which he was not compensated. See Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 U.S. 680, 686-87, 66 S.Ct. 1187, 90 L.Ed. 1515 (1946).

II.

Having reviewed the parties’ briefs and the applicable law, and having had the benefit of oral argument, we conclude that the district court correctly granted summary judgment. Accordingly, we affirm.

AFFIRMED.