Wagner v. Lee County

678 F. App'x 913
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedFebruary 2, 2017
DocketNo. 16-10576
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 678 F. App'x 913 (Wagner v. Lee County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wagner v. Lee County, 678 F. App'x 913 (11th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

HULL, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Lisa Wagner appeals from the district court’s orders granting defendants’ motions to dismiss and for summary judgment. After review of the briefs and record and with the benefit of oral argument, we reverse in part, affirm in part, and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

This appeal arises from an employment dispute. We first outline the relevant facts and procedural history.

A. Wagner’s Employment

From January 2012 to October 2013, Defendant Lee County, Florida Board of County Commissioners (the “County’) employed Wagner in its Economic Development Office (the “EDO”). The EDO is responsible for promoting, coordinating, and monitoring economic development in the County. At the EDO, Wagner worked as an Administrative Specialist, which is a salaried position for which she was paid $1,269.23 on a biweekly basis. Susan Noe', the EDO’s Manager of Business Assistance, hired Wagner and acted as Wag[915]*915ner’s direct supervisor. In addition to Wagner, the EDO employed two other Administrative Specialists and one Administrative Assistant. Performance reviews from 2012 and 2013 indicated that Wagner’s work exceeded expectations.

In her role as Administrative Specialist, Wagner performed tasks similar to those typically performed by a secretary.1 For example, Wagner was responsible for attending meetings with County officials and investors, recording the meetings, typing minutes for the meetings, and submitting the minutes for review. Wagner’s other tasks included booking travel, maintaining files, assisting with website updates, and working as a front desk receptionist.

Wagner also managed and maintained the EDO’s real estate database, which served as a resource for businesses considering relocating to Lee County. Wagner used this real estate database to perform property searches and find suitable commercial real estate sites, and the EDO then used this inform'ation to prepare proposals for companies relocating to the County. A work plan for Wagner covering the 2012-13 fiscal year indicated that, with respect to the real estate database, Wagner was responsible for training other administrative staff and brokers on the maintenance and use of the database, creating maps as needed for other EDO employees, coordinating with the County’s software developer regarding necessary improvements, and coordinating with Florida Power and Light to resolve issues that might arise from use of the database.

B. Wagner’s Overtime Hours

The job posting for Wagner’s Administrative Specialist position listed her work-mg hours as 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, but the posting also noted that these hours could vary based on work needs. Wagner stated that she worked more than forty hours a week on a regular basis—at least two or three hours per week, but sometimes more. Noe confirmed that Wagner worked “a tremendous amount of overtime on a regular basis—at least two (2) to three (3) hours every week, but many times more than that as the amount of overtime depended upon the project or assignment, such as after-hours meetings, which were regular and frequent.” Noe stated, for example, that Wagner often typed meeting minutes at home after regular work hours.

Several EDO employees testified that the County records did not accurately reflect Wagner’s overtime work. Noe also stated that the County did not keep track of any overtime worked by salaried employees. Both Eileen Schuman, who worked as the EDO’s Office Manager and Fiscal Officer, and John Brock, who worked as the EDO’s Research Analyst, stated that the County did not keep accurate records of overtime hours Wagner worked. Schuman and Brock also confirmed that Wagner, worked more than forty hours many weeks.

Throughout the period of her employment at the EDO, the County classified Wagner as exempt from the overtime wages requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The County’s employment records indicate that Wagner did not work any overtime hours during her employment. Glen Salyer, who served as the EDO’s Interim Director from Sep[916]*916tember 2013 to January 2014, also said that Wagner did not work more than forty hours during any week in September or October 2013. Salyer did acknowledge, however, that he was aware of Wagner staying at work past 5:00 pm on one occasion. Stephanie Figueroa, who worked as EDO’s Manager of Human Resources during the months of September and October 2013, stated that she was unaware of Wagner ever asking or complaining about her FLSA exempt status during the time Wagner was employed at the EDO.

C. EDO Audit

While working at the EDO, Wagner noticed what she perceived to be potential illegal activity on the part of other EDO employees. For example, Wagner noticed that the EDO was paying vendors for items that the County did not receive and paying contractors for work that was not performed. Wagner reported these issues to Noe.

In 2013, the Lee County Clerk of Courts’ Internal Audit Department (the “Internal Audit Department” or the “auditors”), which is an independent organization unaffiliated with the EDO or County management, initiated an audit of the EDO. James Moore, who was the EDO’s Director at the time, asked Noe to oversee the audit and to respond to the Internal Audit Department’s questions. Moore also asked Noe to “monitor” which EDO employees provided information to auditors. According to Noe, there were five EDO employees, including Wagner, who participated in the audit.

Noe stated that at some point during the audit, “the auditors asked [Noe] to set up an appointment for [Wagner] to meet with [the auditors].” Noe further said that she “directed [ ] Wagner to the auditors” and that ‘Wagner both spoke to [the auditors] and provided a written statement.” In her deposition, Wagner was asked whether she “[was] told that [she was] to participate anonymously in the audit,” and Wagner replied: “I asked to and I now know that [was not] done, but I did ask. I did state that I was in fear of retaliation ... and I did ask to remain anonymous.” In her deposition, Noe also stated that she thought Wagner participated in the audit anonymously. In the operative amended complaint, Wagner alleged that her participation in the audit was voluntary.

During her meeting with the Internal Audit Department, Wagner disclosed that she was asked by EDO employees to change official records, that some records were “stolen from [her] desk,” that EDO employees were “throwing out materials that [the EDO] had paid thousands of dollars for,” that Wagner was asked to hide certain materials, and that the EDO was “spending money on things that just plain old [were not] done.”

On April 8, 2013, Wagner signed a document setting out a number of her complaints regarding potential misconduct of EDO employees. Wagner’s written complaint stated that her minute-taking recorder, which she used to take official audio recordings of EDO meetings, was removed from her desk without her permission. Wagner’s written complaint also explained that the recorder reappeared on her desk three weeks later, but that the meeting minutes had been deleted from the recorder. Wagner’s written complaint further noted how several EDO-related records, some of which were confidential, were removed from her desk without her permission.

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Bluebook (online)
678 F. App'x 913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wagner-v-lee-county-ca11-2017.