Perez v. Howes

7 F. Supp. 3d 715, 22 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 893, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34112, 2014 WL 1028878
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedMarch 17, 2014
DocketCase No. 1:12-CV-888
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 7 F. Supp. 3d 715 (Perez v. Howes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Perez v. Howes, 7 F. Supp. 3d 715, 22 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 893, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34112, 2014 WL 1028878 (W.D. Mich. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

GORDON J. QUIST, District Judge.

Plaintiff, the Secretary of the United States Department of Labor (DOL), sued Defendant Darryl Howes, d/b/a Darryl Howes Farms, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), 29 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq.1 Plaintiff claims that Defendant paid workers less than minimum wage, failed to keep adequate time records for workers, provided substandard housing to workers, and interfered with the DOL’s investigation into his labor practices. In his amended complaint, Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief to require Defendant to comply with the FLSA’s minimum wage and record keeping requirements, to comply with the MSPA’s housing standards, and to allow the DOL to conduct investigations free from interference. Plaintiff further seeks to recover unpaid minimum wages to individuals that worked for Defendant and liquidated damages.

[719]*719Plaintiff has moved for partial summary-judgment, seeking a declaration that Defendant violated the FLSA and the MSPA, as well as injunctive relief. The motion does not seek unpaid wages. Defendant has filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, arguing that the workers were not employees under the FLSA, and thus the statute’s minimum wage and record keeping requirements did not apply. Defendant further argues that he did not control the housing provided to the workers, and thus is not liable under the MSPA. Finally, Defendant asserts that he did not interfere with the DOL’s investigation. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant Plaintiffs motion and deny Defendant’s motion.

I. Background

A. The 2011 Harvest

Defendant has owned Daryl Howes Farms since 2009. (Def.’s Dep. at 4.) In 2011, Defendant grew 40 acres of cucumbers to be used for making pickles. (Id. at 6.) He sold all the cucumbers to a company owned by his cousin, Ron Howes, for $161,000. (Id. at 8,10.)

During the 2011 harvest, Defendant employed 38 migrant workers (the workers) to harvest cucumbers. (Id. at 30.) Of those workers, 26 had worked for Defendant during the previous year’s harvest. (Id. at 31-34.) Although Defendant generally expected workers to work for him exclusively during the cucumber harvest, six of the 38 workers worked additional jobs during the harvest. (Id. at 151-53.) One of the workers worked on the farm where he lived throughout the harvest. (Id.) Five of the workers worked nights at a cherry plant during the first, one and one-half weeks of the harvest. (Id. at 153.)

Before beginning work, each worker received and signed an “independent contractor agreement” (the contract). (Id. at 21; dkt. # 17, Ex. L.) The contract provided that Defendant and the worker each would receive half the gross proceeds from the sale of the crop that the worker harvested. (Dkt. # 17, Ex. L.) The prices for the cucumbers were set by the buyer, and specified in an attachment to the contract. (Id.; Def.’s Dep. at 115.) All the workers accepted the rate in the contract, and none attempted to negotiate a different rate. (Def.’s Dep. at 115.) Under the terms of the contract, the most profitable cucumber to harvest was a “number two,” which is a cucumber between one and one-half inches long. (Id.)

Before the workers arrived, Defendant disced and plowed the cucumber fields, planted cucumber seeds, and fertilized the fields. (Id. at 44-47.) Defendant paid about $10,000 for the cucumber seeds and fertilizer. (Id. at 46.) During the harvest, Defendant made all decisions regarding fertilization and irrigation of the fields, and did not involve the workers in these decisions. (Id.)

Before the harvest began, the workers organized a lottery system to determine which plot each worker would pick. (Id. at 61.) During the harvest season, the workers determined the days on which they would harvest cucumbers. (Id. at 52.) On very rainy days, for instance, some workers would harvest, while others would not. (Id.) Defendant did not believe he had the power to fire workers, even if they chose not to show up for work. (Id. at 43.)

On days when they harvested, some workers brought their own plastic dish-washing gloves and wheelbarrows. (Id. at 140-41.) Defendant provided other supplies, including collection boxes for the cucumbers, hoes, and buckets. (Id. at 136.) Defendant also provided portable toilets and hand-washing facilities. (Id. at 137-38.)

[720]*720The workers placed cucumbers into collection boxes that Defendant provided. (Id. at 38, 136.) Defendant transported those boxes to the buyer using his own forklifts and trucks. (Id. at 38, 136.) Defendant oversaw the cucumber harvest, and spent time at the fields each day, typically two to three hours. (Id. at 44, 53.) While he was there, Defendant checked in with workers to see if they were falling behind and observed whether they were working. (Id. at 53-54.) Defendant also sprayed chemicals, spread fertilizer, maintained irrigation equipment, repaired vehicles, loaded cucumbers, and checked the cucumber vines for disease. (Id. at 38, 51-54.) Defendant’s employee, Mark Baccaria, assisted with these tasks. (Id.)

Defendant kept track of the hours that each worker worked on a weekly basis. (Id. at 94.) Once a week, he asked the workers how many hours they had worked during the previous week and recorded this number. (Id. at 94.) He then used this number to calculate their hourly wage. (Id. at 120.)

B. The “Green Camp”

In 2010, the Michigan Department of Agriculture fined Defendant for providing substandard housing to migrant workers. (Id. at 155-56.) The parties ultimately reached a settlement whereby Defendant agreed not to provide migrant worker housing in the future. (Id.)

Before the 2011 harvest, Ron Howes told Defendant that there were empty units at the “Green Camp,” a property that Ron Howes’ mother owned five miles west of the cucumber fields. (Id. at 26, 158.) Ron Howes told Defendant that Defendant’s workers could rent the units, but that Ron Howes did not have time to fix the units before the harvest. (Id. at 158, 162.) Defendant agreed to authorize his employee, Mark Baccaria, to fix the units for rental. (Id. at 162.) Before the workers arrived, Baccaria replaced two refrigerators and some copper wire, performed some routine maintenance, and also cleaned some of the houses. (Id. at 176-77.)

The contract provided to the workers included an attachment stating that they could stay at the Green Camp for $25 per week payable to Ron Howes. (Id. at 24; dkt. # 17, Ex. L.) During the harvest, the workers living at the Green Camp reported problems with the units to Baccaria, who completed repairs and performed some routine maintenance. (Def.’s Dep. at 26; 178-79.) Defendant never went to the Green Camp during the 2011 harvest. (Id. at 26.)

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7 F. Supp. 3d 715, 22 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 893, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34112, 2014 WL 1028878, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perez-v-howes-miwd-2014.