Paczkowski v. My Choice Family Care, Inc.

384 F. Supp. 3d 991
District Court, W.D. Wisconsin·Decided April 24, 2019·No. 18-cv-759-slc·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

STEPHEN L. CROCKER, Magistrate Judge

Plaintiff Katy Paczkowski brings this action on behalf of herself and all other similarly situated employees, as a collective and class action against her former employer, defendant My Choice Family Care, Inc. ("My Choice"), for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. , and Wisconsin wage and hour laws. Paczkowski is a former Care Manager at My Choice, a non-profit managed care organization. In this suit, Paczkowski contends that My Choice violated the FLSA and Wisconsin law by failing to pay overtime compensation to her and other Care Managers.

Before the court is My Choice's motion to dismiss Paczkowski's state law claim on the ground that My Choice is a nonprofit organization to which Wisconsin's overtime regulation, Wis. Admin. Code § DWD 274.03, does not apply.1 Dkts. 12, 13. Paczkowski does not dispute My Choice's nonprofit status but disagrees with its contention that nonprofits generally are not covered by Wisconsin's overtime regulation. Because I agree that the terms of the regulation do not apply to My Choice, I am granting My Choice's motion for partial dismissal.

UNDISPUTED FACTS

Defendant My Choice is a private "managed care organization" that provides various healthcare and related services to adults and seniors with disabilities. Am. Compl., dkt. 23-1, ¶ 12. My Choice provides this care through its Care Managers, *993such as plaintiff, who provide ongoing, day-to-day case management services for its members. Id. at ¶ 17. Since its inception in 2016, My Choice has been approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

OPINION

I. Legal Standard

Defendant contends that as a nonprofit, it is not covered by Wisconsin's overtime regulation, Wis. Admin. Code § DWD 274.03, and therefore plaintiff's state law claims must be dismissed. Defendant's motion, which appears to present a question of first impression in Wisconsin, requires this court to interpret provisions of Wisconsin's administrative code. In doing so, the court employs ordinary principles of statutory construction. Orion Flight Servs., Inc. v. Basler Flight Serv. , 2006 WI 51, ¶ 18, 290 Wis. 2d 421, 435, 714 N.W.2d 130, 137 ; Basinas v. State , 104 Wis.2d 539, 546, 312 N.W.2d 483 (1981). "Statutory interpretation begins with-and, absent ambiguity, is confined to-the language of the statute," and statutory words and phrases, unless technical in nature or carrying a peculiar legal meaning, are construed according to common and ordinary usage. Fuchsgruber v. Custom Accessories, Inc. , 2001 WI 81, ¶ 10, 244 Wis.2d 758, 628 N.W.2d 833 ; Peterson v. Midwest Sec. Ins. Co. , 2001 WI 131, ¶ 19, 248 Wis. 2d 567, 636 N.W. 2d 727 ; see also Wis. Stat. § 990.01(1). In determining a term's ordinary and common meaning, a court may consult a dictionary. Rouse v. Theda Clark Med. Ctr., Inc. , 2007 WI 87, ¶ 21, 302 Wis.2d 358, 735 N.W.2d 30. In addition, the court should consider the statute's context and structure. State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court for Dane Cty. , 2004 WI 58, ¶ 46, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 663, 681 N.W.2d 110, 124. "[S]tatutory language is interpreted in the context in which it is used; not in isolation but as part of a whole; in relation to the language of surrounding or closely-related statutes; and reasonably, to avoid absurd or unreasonable results." Id.

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Paczkowski v. My Choice Family Care, Inc., 384 F. Supp. 3d 991 (W.D. Wis. 2019).

384 F. Supp. 3d 991 (Paczkowski v. My Choice Family Care, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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