Rojas v. Splendor Landscape Designs Ltd.

268 F. Supp. 3d 405
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJuly 31, 2017
DocketCV 15-5809
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 268 F. Supp. 3d 405 (Rojas v. Splendor Landscape Designs Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rojas v. Splendor Landscape Designs Ltd., 268 F. Supp. 3d 405 (E.D.N.Y. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LEONARD D. WEXLER, United States District Judge

Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment with respect to Defendants’ liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (“FLSA”) and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). Defendants oppose the motion. For the following reasons, Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment is granted.

BACKGROUND

This is a collective action brought by current and former employees of Defendant Splendor Landscape Designs Ltd. (“Splendor”) to recover inter alia unpaid overtime wages, pursuant to the FLSA and the NYLL. Defendant Robert Hirsch (“Hirsch”) is the sole owner of Splendor. The relevant facts, which are largely undisputed, are taken from the parties’ Local Civil Rule 56.1 Statements, unless otherwise noted.

By letter dated April 3, 2015, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) formally advised Defendants that it had initiated an investigation (the “DOL Investigation”) into Splendor’s pay practices for the period 2012 through 2015.1 The DOL investigation concluded that all of Splendor’s-employees were paid straight time for all hours worked, including those worked over forty in a workweek. During his deposition, Defendant Hirsch confirmed that Splendor paid its employees at their regular rate of pay for all hours worked and that it did not pay its employees , overtime wages for those hours worked in excess of forty in a given week.

The DOL Investigation further concluded that Splendor falsified its time and payroll records to make it appear as if its employees were paid overtime wages. Plaintiffs’ pay stubs produced by Defendants during discovery indicate that Plaintiffs worked more than forty hours in some weeks. However, Hirsch testified at his deposition that the Plaintiffs’ paystubs do not accurately reflect all of the hours [409]*409Plaintiffs worked or their rates of pay. Rather, Plaintiffs worked additional hours that are not indicated on their pay stubs, for which they were paid in cash at their regular rate of pay. Moreover, Plaintiffs were paid at higher hourly rates than the rates indicated on their pay stubs.

Plaintiffs commenced the within action on October 8, 2015, alleging violations of the PLSA and the NYLL. Discovery having concluded, Plaintiffs , now move for partial summary, judgment, solely with respect to liability. Defendants oppose the motion on the grounds that there are questions of fact concerning Plaintiffs’ credibility-

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate when “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The burden is on the moving party to establish the lack of any factual issues. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The very language of this standard reveals that an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment will not be defeated because of the mere existence of. some alleged factual dispute between the parties. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Rather, the requirement is that there be no “genuine issue of material fact.” Id at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

The inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts are to be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 588, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). When the moving party has carried its burden, the party opposing summary judgment must do more than simply show that “there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Id at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348. In addition, the party opposing the mption “may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleadings, but ... must set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

When considering a motion for summary judgment, the district court “must also be ‘mindful of the underlying standards and burdens of proof ... because the evidentiary burdens that the respective parties will bear at' trial guide district courts in their determination of summary judgment motions.” U.S. S.E.C. v. Meltzer, 440 F.Supp.2d 179, 187 (E.D.N.Y. 2006) (quoting Brady v. Town of Colchester, 863 F.2d 205, 211 (2d Cir. 1988)) (internal citations omitted). “Where the non-moving party would bear the ultimate burden of proof on an issue at trial, the burden on the moving party is satisfied if he can point to an absence of evidence to support an essential element of the non-movant’s claim.” Meltzer, 440 F.Supp.2d at 187.

II. Overtime Under The.FLSA and the NYLL

“Under the FLSA, employees who work more than 40 hours per week must be compensated for each hour worked over 40 ‘at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which [they are] employed.’” Young v. Cooper Cameron Corp., 586 F.3d 201, 204 (2d Cir. 2009) (quoting 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)). Similarly, the NYLL also requires employers to compensate employees at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate for hours worked in .excess of forty per week. See N.Y. Labor Law § 650 et seq..

[410]*410There is no question here that Defendants violated the FLSA and the NYLL by failing to pay Plaintiffs overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of forty. Not only did Hirsch confirm this failure at his deposition but the DOL Investigation concluded that Defendants violated the FLSA’s overtime provisions as well. Accordingly, there is no genuine issue of material fact concerning Plaintiffs’ claims for failure to pay overtime wages under both the FLSA and the NYLL and Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment is granted for those claims.

III. Individual Liability Under the FLSA

“To be held liable under the FLSA, a person must be an ‘employer,’ which § 3(d) of the statute defines broadly as ’any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee.” Herman v. RSR Sec. Servs. Ltd., 172 F.3d 132, 141 (2d Cir. 1999) (quoting 29 U.S.C. § 203(d)). The Second Circuit has instructed that “the determination of whether an employer-employee relationship exists for purposes of the FLSA should be grounded in economic reality rather than technical concepts.” Irizarry v. Catsimatidis, 722 F.3d 99, 104 (2d Cir. 2013) (quotation omitted).

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268 F. Supp. 3d 405, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rojas-v-splendor-landscape-designs-ltd-nyed-2017.