Sc Dept. of Corrections v. Cartrette

694 S.E.2d 18, 387 S.C. 640
CourtCourt of Appeals of South Carolina
DecidedMay 28, 2010
Docket4670
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 694 S.E.2d 18 (Sc Dept. of Corrections v. Cartrette) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sc Dept. of Corrections v. Cartrette, 694 S.E.2d 18, 387 S.C. 640 (S.C. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

387 S.C. 640 (2010)
694 S.E.2d 18

SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Respondent,
v.
Billy Joe CARTRETTE, Appellant.

No. 4670.

Court of Appeals of South Carolina.

Submitted March 1, 2010.
Decided April 5, 2010.
Withdrawn, Substituted and Refiled May 28, 2010.
Rehearing Denied May 28, 2010.

*641 Billy J. Cartrette, pro se, for Appellant.

*642 Lake E. Summers, of Columbia, for Respondent.

CURETON, A.J.

Billy Joe Cartrette filed a grievance with the South Carolina Department of Corrections concerning conditions of his participation in the Prison Industries Program (PIP). Cartrette appeals the circuit court's order remanding his case to the Administrative Law Court (ALC) for a determination of the prevailing wage for similar work, reversing the ALC's finding that Cartrette was an employee of the private sponsor, affirming the ALC's denial of overtime wages, and affirming the ALC's denial of reimbursement for certain pay deductions.[1] We reverse as to overtime wages, remand that issue to the ALC for further proceedings as outlined in this opinion, and affirm the circuit court's decisions on all remaining issues.[2]

After we issued our original opinion affirming in part and reversing in part, both parties petitioned for rehearing. We deny Cartrette's petition for rehearing, grant the Department's petition for rehearing, withdraw our previous opinion, and substitute this opinion.

FACTS

Cartrette was an inmate of the Ridgeland Correctional Institution. As a participant in PIP, Cartrette provided on-site labor at the Ridgeland Correctional Institution, sometimes working in excess of ninety hours per two-week period, for PIP sponsor Kwalu Furniture. Cartrette was compensated at a rate of $5.50 per hour. Cartrette filed a grievance with the Department complaining his hourly wage was insufficient compared to the prevailing wage for similar work performed in the private sector. He asserted non-inmate employees earned $11.00 to $14.00 per hour for the same work. Cartrette further complained he did not receive additional pay for overtime hours and the Department improperly withheld *643 funds from his paychecks. Specifically, Cartrette challenged as unconstitutional the withholding of funds for his room and board and additional funds for Victim's Assistance.[3]

The Department denied Cartrette's grievance, and Cartrette appealed to the ALC. The ALC reversed the Department's refusal to pay Cartrette the prevailing wage and found the prevailing wage was $5.25. Furthermore, the ALC affirmed the Department's denials of overtime and reimbursement for wage deductions.

Both Cartrette and the Department then appealed to the circuit court. After a hearing, the circuit court found $5.25 was not the prevailing wage and remanded that issue to the ALC with seven questions for the ALC to consider in determining the correct prevailing wage. The circuit court reversed the ALC's apparent finding that Cartrette "worked for... or was otherwise ever an employee of Kwalu." Finally, the circuit court affirmed the ALC's determinations Cartrette was ineligible for overtime or reimbursement of wage deductions for room and board and for Victims Assistance. Cartrette now appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The ALC has subject matter jurisdiction under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) to hear properly perfected appeals from the Department's final orders in administrative or non-collateral matters. Slezak v. S.C. Dep't of Corr., 361 S.C. 327, 331, 605 S.E.2d 506, 507 (2004). Our standard of review derives from the APA. Al-Shabazz v. State, 338 S.C. 354, 379, 527 S.E.2d 742, 755 (2000). We may affirm, remand, reverse, or modify the appealed decision if the appellant's substantive rights have suffered prejudice because the decision is:

(a) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;
(b) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency;
*644 (c) made upon unlawful procedure;
(d) affected by other error of law;
(e) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or
(f) arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.

S.C.Code Ann. § 1-23-610(B) (Supp.2009).

LAW/ANALYSIS

I. Overtime Pay

Cartrette contends he is entitled to time-and-a-half pay for overtime worked. We agree.

In South Carolina, a non-inmate employee's right of action for overtime pay lies in § 207(a)(1) of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 201-219 (1998 & Supp.2009). Under the FLSA, non-inmate workers receive compensation at a rate of one and one-half times their hourly rate for hours worked in excess of forty per week. 29 U.S.C.A. § 207(a)(2) (1998). This court recently examined the legislative intent underlying the FLSA and found:

The purpose of the FLSA is to protect "the rights of those who toil, of those who sacrifice a full measure of their freedom and talents to the use and profit of others." Tennessee Coal, Iron & R.R. Co. v. Muscoda Local No. 123, 321 U.S. 590, 597, 64 S.Ct. 698, 88 L.Ed. 949 (1944). The FLSA was enacted in response to a congressional finding that some industries, engaged in commerce, maintained labor conditions which were detrimental to a minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and the general well-being of workers. See 29 U.S.C. § 202(a) (1998). The Act attempts to eliminate unfair labor practices without substantially curtailing employment or earning power. 29 U.S.C. § 202(b). Because the FLSA is remedial and humanitarian in purpose, it should be broadly interpreted and applied to effectuate its goals. Tennessee Coal, Iron & R.R. Co., 321 U.S. at 597, 64 S.Ct. 698; Benshoff v. City of Virginia Beach, 180 F.3d 136 (4th Cir.1999).

Miller v. Blumenthal Mills, Inc., 365 S.C. 204, 221, 616 S.E.2d 722, 730 (Ct.App.2005).

*645 Our supreme court has held the FLSA does not extend to inmate workers because, for purposes of payment of wages, inmate workers are not employees of PIP sponsors. Williams v. S.C. Dep't of Corr., 372 S.C. 255, 260, 641 S.E.2d 885, 888 (2007). Other courts, including the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, have also declined to extend the protections of the FLSA and state labor statutes to inmates. See, e.g., Harker v. State Use Indus.,

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Bluebook (online)
694 S.E.2d 18, 387 S.C. 640, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sc-dept-of-corrections-v-cartrette-scctapp-2010.