Wage Claim of Holbeck v. Stevi-West, Inc.

783 P.2d 391, 240 Mont. 121, 29 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1013, 85 A.L.R. 4th 509, 1989 Mont. LEXIS 316
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 1, 1989
Docket89-231
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 783 P.2d 391 (Wage Claim of Holbeck v. Stevi-West, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wage Claim of Holbeck v. Stevi-West, Inc., 783 P.2d 391, 240 Mont. 121, 29 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1013, 85 A.L.R. 4th 509, 1989 Mont. LEXIS 316 (Mo. 1989).

Opinion

JUSTICE HUNT

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

The Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) issued an order *123 directing appellant, Stevi-West, Inc., to pay overtime wages of $3,288 and a statutory penalty of $3,288 to its former employee, Frederick C. Holbeck. The District Court of the Fourth Judicial District, Ravalli County, affirmed the DOLI order. Stevi-West appeals. We affirm.

Stevi-West presents three questions for our consideration:

1. Was Frederick Holbeck an executive employee within the meaning of § 39-3-406(1)(j), MCA, and, therefore, exempt from overtime compensation?
2. Did Frederick Holbeck provide sufficient and accurate substantiation of his overtime hours?
3. Did the District Court err in failing to allow Stevi-West to present additional evidence?

In October, 1985, Stevi-West, Inc., owned primarily by Tom and Karen Bauer, opened an eight-lane bowling center, lounge and snack bar in Stevensville. A few months prior to the opening, the Bauers hired Dave Sears to manage the center. In August, 1985, Sears hired the claimant, Frederick Holbeck, under an* oral employment agreement.

Holbeck’s primary duties included attending the customer service counter, working on the automatic pinsetting machines and maintaining the bowling alleys. He also performed janitorial chores, drilled balls, organized leagues, promoted the alleys, instructed bowlers and closed the center after work hours.

Stevi-West initially paid Holbeck $1,300 per month. In June, 1986, after the manager, Sears, was laid off, Holbeck’s wages increased to $1,600 per month. In October, 1986, his wages again increased, this time to $1,900 per month. On December 31, 1986, Holbeck resigned from his position for personal reasons.

On February 19, 1987, Holbeck filed a claim with the DOLI to collect overtime wages from Stevi-West. After a hearing, the DOLI hearings officer entered findings of fact, conclusions of law and an order requiring Stevi-West to pay Holbeck $3,288 as overtime wages due and owing and $3,288 as a statutory penalty.

Stevi-West petitioned for judicial review. Following briefing of the issues, the District Court affirmed the DOLI order. Stevi-West appealed to this Court.

The standard of review of an agency decision is delineated at § 2-4-704, MCA, as follows:

“(2) The court may not substitute its judgment for that of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The *124 court may affirm the decision of the agency or remand the case for further proceedings. The court may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because: “(a) the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:
“(v) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record;
“(vi) arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.”

Thus, judicial review of factual matters is limited. The reviewing court will not overturn an agency’s findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous. Facts supported by substantial credible evidence are not clearly erroneous. City of Billings v. Billings Firefighters Local No. 521 (1982), 200 Mont. 421, 430-31, 651 P.2d 627, 632.

Judicial review of legal issues is somewhat broader. The reviewing court will reverse a/i agency’s legal conclusions if they are characterized by an abuse of discretion. Billings Firefighters, 200 Mont. at 431, 651 P.2d at 632.

The first question raised on appeal is whether Holbeck was an executive employee within the meaning of § 39-3-406(l)(j), MCA, and, therefore, exempt from overtime compensation.

Generally, an employee is entitled to overtime compensation for any hours worked in excess of 40 per week. Section 39-3-405(1), MCA. Among the employees excluded from this general rule are those employed in a bona fide executive capacity. Section 39-3-406(1)(j), MCA. A bona fide executive is defined in § 24.16.201, ARM, which provides:

“(1) The term ‘employee employed in a bona fide executive * * * capacity’ in Section 39-3-406(1) (j) MCA of the Montana Minimum Wage and Overtime Compensation Act shall mean any employee:
“(a) Whose primary duty consists of the management of the enterprise in which he is employed or of a customarily recognized department or subdivision thereof; and
“(b) Who customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees therein; and
“(c) Who has the authority to hire or fire other employees or whose suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring or firing and as to the advancement and promotion or any other change of status of other employees will be given particular weight; and
*125 “(d) Who customarily and regularly exercises discretionary powers; and
“(e) Who does not devote more than 20 percent or in the case of an employee of a retail or service establishment who does not devote as much as 40 percent, of his hours of work in the workweek to activities which are not directly and closely related to the performance of the work described in subsections (a) through (d) of this section. (Emphasis added.)

Before an individual will be deemed an executive employee exempt from overtime compensation, the employer must prove each of the elements of the above regulation. Rosebud County v. Roan (Mont. 1981), [_Mont. _,] 627 P.2d 1222, 1228, 38 St.Rep. 639, 646. In this case, Stevi-West has failed to meet its burden.

Substantial credible evidence supports the DOLI hearings officer’s finding that Holbeck did not act in a managerial capacity. Although Holbeck was hired to assist the manager, Sears, the evidence demonstrates that his primary responsibilities related to customer service and maintenance of the bowling lanes and equipment. After Sears was laid off, Holbeck’s responsibilities remained the same. The owners themselves, rather than Holbeck, filled the managerial void left by Sears’ departure.

New factors indicate that Holbeck held a managerial position. He was not given the authority to make major business decisions. He did not schedule employees or set pay rates. He did not handle money except to collect it from customers at the customer service counter and to put it in safekeeping on the nights he closed the center. He was not responsible for any business recordkeeping. Apart from arranging for the exchange of free bowling for help from high school students, he did not hire or fire employees.

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Bluebook (online)
783 P.2d 391, 240 Mont. 121, 29 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1013, 85 A.L.R. 4th 509, 1989 Mont. LEXIS 316, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wage-claim-of-holbeck-v-stevi-west-inc-mont-1989.