Sobolewski v. Boselli & Sons, LLC

342 F. Supp. 3d 1178
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedSeptember 21, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 16-cv-01573-RM-STV
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 342 F. Supp. 3d 1178 (Sobolewski v. Boselli & Sons, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sobolewski v. Boselli & Sons, LLC, 342 F. Supp. 3d 1178 (D. Colo. 2018).

Opinion

RAYMOND P. MOORE, United States District Judge *1180Plaintiff Thomasz Sobolewski is a former employee who worked at Defendants' McDonald's restaurants in Colorado. Plaintiff seeks, on behalf of himself and as class representative, damages against Defendants for alleged meal and rest period violations. Defendants have filed two motions for partial summary judgment seeking resolution of four issues: (1) whether Colorado's Minimum Wage Order grants Plaintiff a private right of action for violations of its meal period and rest period requirements; (2) whether, based on the undisputed facts, Plaintiff's claim for violation of the Wage Order's meal period requirements fail as a matter of law; (3) whether Plaintiff's breach of contract claim must be dismissed for lack of consideration; and (4) whether the statute of limitations provision contained in the Wage Order applies to Plaintiff's claims for meal period and rest period violations. (ECF Nos. 39 and 83.)

For the reasons stated below, the Court denies in part and grants in part Defendants' first motion for partial summary judgment. (ECF No. 39.) Defendants' second motion for partial summary judgment is denied. (ECF No. 83.)

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The following are the undisputed and material facts taken from the parties' statements of undisputed facts and accompanying exhibits.

Defendants are the owners and operators of twelve McDonald's restaurants in Colorado.1 (ECF No. 49-1, Defs.' Sep. Statement of Undisputed Mat. Facts ("Defs.' SUMF"), Defs.' SUMF ¶ 1.) Plaintiff worked at least one of the locations. (Id. ) Plaintiff's Class and Collective Action Complaint alleges that Defendants' violated federal law and Colorado law by: "1) failing to ensure that employees received meal and rest breaks during their shifts; and 2) deducting time from employee pay for breaks that never were taken." (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 1.) Plaintiff asserts the following four causes of action: (1) violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. ("FLSA"); (2) violation of the Colorado Wage Claim Act, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-4-101, et seq. ("CWCA"); (3) violation of the Colorado Minimum Wage Act, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-6-101, et seq. ("CMWA"), as implemented by the Colorado Minimum Wage Order ("Wage Order"); and (4) breach of contract. (See id. ) Two motions for partial summary judgment are before the Court.

Defendants' [First] Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (the "First Motion") seeks dismissal of Plaintiff's third claim under the Wage Order for meal period and rest period violations. (ECF No. 39 at 2.) The underlying facts supporting Plaintiff's third claim are almost entirely undisputed. Defendants had a policy that required its employees to clock in and out of a computer system for 10-minute rest periods and 30-minute meal periods. (ECF No. 49-1, Defs.' SUMF ¶¶ 2-4.) Employees were required to punch in when they arrived for their shift, punch out for their 30-minute unpaid meal periods, and then punch back *1181in to the system when they returned from their 30-minute meal period. (Id. , Defs.' SUMF ¶ 5.) The employees are paid based on the time punches recorded by Defendants' computer system. (Id. , Defs.' SUMF ¶ 6.) The heart of Plaintiff's meal period claim is that Defendants' management was very strict about making sure that employees clocked back into the system no later than 30 minutes after their lunch break started. (Id. , Defs.' SUMF ¶ 8.) As a result, employees "often went to the timeclock to clock back in a few minutes before 30 minutes had passed to make sure [they] clocked in no late[r] than the 30 minute deadline." (Id. , Defs.' SUMF ¶ 9.) Stated differently: "Many employees just waited around the timeclock until exactly 30 minutes had passed so they could clock in exactly on time." (Id. , Defs.' SUMF ¶ 10.) Defendants' First Motion argues that the Wage Order does not provide a private cause of action for Plaintiff's alleged meal period and rest period violations. (See ECF No. 39.) And, even if Plaintiff may maintain a private right of action, no meal period violation has occurred under these undisputed facts. (Id. )

Defendants' Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (the "Second Motion") does not rely on any additional facts. (ECF No. 83.) Instead, the Second Motion seeks resolution of two legal questions: (1) whether Plaintiff has stated a valid breach of contract claim; and (2) assuming that Plaintiff can maintain a private action under the Wage Order, whether the statute of limitations provided in Section 15 the Wage Order applies to such a claim. (Id. at 1-2.) Plaintiff opposes the relief sought in both motions.

II. LEGAL STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Summary judgment is appropriate only if there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) ; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; Henderson v. Inter-Chem Coal Co., Inc. , 41 F.3d 567, 569- 70 (10th Cir. 1994). Whether there is a genuine dispute as to a material fact depends upon whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ; Stone v. Autoliv ASP, Inc. ,

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Bluebook (online)
342 F. Supp. 3d 1178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sobolewski-v-boselli-sons-llc-cod-2018.