Trout v. Village of Westmont

68 F. Supp. 3d 961, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134219, 2014 WL 4770555
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedSeptember 23, 2014
DocketNo. 12 C 3504
StatusPublished

This text of 68 F. Supp. 3d 961 (Trout v. Village of Westmont) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trout v. Village of Westmont, 68 F. Supp. 3d 961, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134219, 2014 WL 4770555 (N.D. Ill. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

REBECCA R. PALLMEYER, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Frank Trout was the Fire Chief for the Village of Westmont until January 17, 2012, when he was terminated for misconduct. Following his termination, Trout brought this action, alleging that the Village owes him unpaid compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and related state law guarantees, and under the terms of a contract between Trout and the Village. The court earlier granted judgment on the pleadings in favor of the Village officials Trout hád named as Defendants in their individual capacity. [Order of March 13, 2013 [22].) The Village now seeks summary judgment. Because Trout was exempt from the protections of FLSA, as explained below, the court grants summary judgment in favor of the Village on that claim. The court concludes his contract claim fails, as well, because Trout himself terminated the agreement.

FACTS

The Village’s motion for summary judgment is supported by a Statement of Uncontested Facts, including citations to the record, as required by our Local Rule 56.1 (See Def.’s 56.1 Stmt. [35].) That Rule directs the non-moving party to respond and to include, for any disputes, a citation to the record in support of the non-moving party’s position on that issue. Plaintiff Trout, who is represented by counsel, has submitted a responsive statement pursuant to LR 56.1(b)(3) [45], but has not supported his denials with record citations in all instances. In any event, as set forth here, the facts are largely undisputed.

Plaintiff Trout worked as the Fire Chief for the Westmont Fire Department from January 5, 1993 until January 17, 2012. (Plaintiffs Response to Def.’s 56.1 Statement [45] ¶ 7.] During Trout’s tenure, Raymond Botch served as Village Manager until October 1, 2003, and Ronald Searl became Village Manager (initially in an acting capacity) thereafter. (Id. ¶¶ 4, 5.) Before becoming Chief, Trout worked for the Westmont Fire Department as a “paid on call” fire fighter beginning in 1989 and as Deputy Chief and Administrative Officer beginning in 1990. (Id. ¶ 8.)

[963]*963In 1995, the Village established the “Duty Officer” program, a program that required that one officer be assigned to be on call for a shift at all times. The Duty Officer was expected to remain within a three-mile radius of the Village during his shift in order to respond promptly to serious emergencies or alarms, inspect buildings and equipment, meet with fire fighters to plan shift work, and oversee training. (Id. ¶¶ 9, 10, 13.) The only employees eligible to serve as Duty Officer were the Fire Chief, Deputy Chiefs, and Captains and, at least on some occasions, the Department’s Administrative Director and Fire Prevention Bureau Director. (Id. ¶ 11; Plaintiffs Statement of Additional Facts [45, pages 19-20] ¶ 1; Exhibits A, B.) An officer assigned to a Duty Officer shift could be on or off duty in his primary capacity, as well; no individual was employed solely to serve as Duty Officer. (Def.’s 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 11, 12.) The Village currently classifies the Fire Chief as an exempt employee, not eligible for additional compensation for hours worked as Duty Officer, but classifies the Deputy Chiefs and Captains as non-exempt employees who do receive additional compensation for those hours. (/<1¶ 14.) (Plaintiff disputes this but cites no record evidence to rebut it. (Trout’s Response to Deffs 56.1 Statement ¶ 14.).) Plaintiffs Responsibilities

As Fire Chief, Plaintiff was the highest-ranking officer In the Fire Department. (Def.’s 56.1 Stmt ¶ 17.) In that capacity, Plaintiff was responsible for significant management responsibilities:

• Planning and direction of activities ■ and services for fighting fires, for providing emergency services, for enforcing the Fire Prevention Code, and for education and public awareness
• Creation and revision of department policies
• Direction of equipment and manpower in response to emergency medical and rescue calls
• Serving as Duty Officer when necessary
• Inspecting buildings for code compliance
• Representing the Village at meetings with boards of three fire districts
• Attending and representing the Fire Department at meetings of the Village Board of Trustees and the Village Planning & Zoning Commission
• Supervision of approximately 110 employees, including an Emergency Medical Services Director, the Fire Prevention Bureau Director, Administrative Director, and Deputy Chief of Administration
• Conducting interviews for hiring and promotion, and recommending hiring, promotion, and termination decisions
• Directing and planning the work of subordinates, including scheduling their work hours, vacation time and compensatory time, and assuming responsibility for their safety
• Conducting performance evaluations, conducting employee training, and imposing formal discipline1
• Oversight and management of the Fire Department’s inventory and inspection of its equipment
• Preparation and management of the Department’s budget

(Trout’s Response to Def.’s 56.1 Stmt. [45] ¶¶ 17-27.)

[964]*964Plaintiff acknowledges that the Village manager “rarely if ever visited” the fire stations to scrutinize his management activities. (Id. ¶ 28.) He does assert that certain of his supervisory responsibilities were curtailed, but the evidence does not support that suggestion. Thus, he asserts that Village Manager Searl- prohibited him from issuing discipline (Plaintiffs Statement of Additional Facts ¶ 9) — but the document he cites is a June 17, 2009 memorandum from Searl imposing a disciplinary suspension on Plaintiff himself for offensive speech made at a Memorial Day parade in Plaintiffs official capacity. Searl was concerned about Plaintiffs public statements “condemn[ing] the actions of the President, Federal Government in general, single unwed mothers as well as gays.” (Searl Memorandum, Exhibit 7 to Plaintiffs Statement of Additional Facts.) The disciplinary suspension Searl imposed as a result did not permanently strip Plaintiff of the power to issue discipline; it simply prohibited him from “initiat[ing] any command decisions or instructions to [his] staff’ for a five-day period. (Id.) Notably, the memorandum recognized that “As [Plaintiff was] an exempt employee this suspension is with pay.” (Id.) Plaintiff also asserts that he is “unable to independently authorize small purchases ... such as holiday card purchases.” (Plaintiffs Statement of Additional Facts ¶ 10.) Again, however, the document he cites, a November 29, 2011 memo from Searl to “All Department/Division Heads” says nothing of the kind; it simply announced that due to budget constraints, “no village funds are to be used in the purchase and/or distribution of holiday cards.... ” (Nov. 28, 2011 memorandum, Exhibit 8 to Plaintiffs Statement of Additional Facts.)

Duty Officer Pay

Working as Duty Officer was one of Plaintiffs most important responsibilities as Fire Chief. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
68 F. Supp. 3d 961, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134219, 2014 WL 4770555, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trout-v-village-of-westmont-ilnd-2014.