Walden v. Florida Department of Corrections

975 F. Supp. 1330, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21596, 1996 WL 911226
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Florida
DecidedJune 24, 1996
DocketNo. TCA 95-40357-WS
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 975 F. Supp. 1330 (Walden v. Florida Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walden v. Florida Department of Corrections, 975 F. Supp. 1330, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21596, 1996 WL 911226 (N.D. Fla. 1996).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

STAFFORD, District Judge.

As current or former employees of the Florida Department of Corrections (“FDOC”), the plaintiffs in this action seek unpaid overtime pay allegedly due them under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219. Before the court at this time is FDOC’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction (doc. 100). FDOC contends that it is entitled to dismissal under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.

I.

The Eleventh Amendment provides that

[t]he Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced on or prose-[1331]*1331euted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

U.S. Const, amend. XI. While the text of the amendment does not explicitly so provide, the Supreme Court has held that an uncon-senting state is immune from suits brought— as this suit is brought — by its own citizens in federal court. Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1, 10 S.Ct. 504, 33 L.Ed. 842 (1890). The holding of Hans has been reaffirmed time and time again. Welch v. Texas Dep’t of Highways and Pub. Transp., 483 U.S. 468, 494-497, 107 S.Ct. 2941, 2957-2958, 97 L.Ed.2d 389, 409-410 (1987) (citing cases).

The Eleventh Amendment serves as a jurisdictional bar to suit against a state in federal court unless: (1) the state has explicitly consented to suit, thus waiving its sovereign immunity; or (2) Congress has specifically abrogated a state’s Eleventh Amendment immunity. Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 609, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 134 L.Ed.2d 252 (1996). Here, the plaintiffs have sued a state agency that is clearly the equivalent of the State of Florida for Eleventh Amendment purposes, and it is undisputed that Florida has not consented to the suit. The question that remains is whether Congress has abrogated Florida’s Eleventh Amendment immunity to suit in federal court against claims brought under the FLSA.

II.

When determining whether Congress has abrogated a state’s sovereign immunity to suit in federal court, a court must ask two questions. First, it must ask whether Congress unequivocally expressed its intent to abrogate the state’s Eleventh Amendment immunity. Second, it must ask whether Congress acted pursuant to a constitutional provision granting Congress the power to abrogate. Seminole Tribe of Florida, 517 U.S. at -, 116 S.Ct. at 1123, 134 L.Ed.2d at 266 (citing Green v. Mansour, 474 U.S. 64, 106 S.Ct. 423, 88 L.Ed.2d 371 (1985)).

In arguing for dismissal under the Eleventh Amendment, FDOC does not contend that Congress failed to unequivocally express its intent to abrogate a state’s Eleventh Amendment immunity under the FLSA. Indeed, FDOC would not prevail with such an argument. Reich v. New York, 3 F.3d 581 (2d Cir.1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1163, 114 S.Ct. 1187, 127 L.Ed.2d 537 (1994); Hale v. Arizona, 993 F.2d 1387 (9th Cir.1993) (en banc). Instead, HRS contends that Congress failed to act pursuant to a valid exercise of power.

FDOC relies on the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. at ——, 116 S.Ct. at 1114, 134 L.Ed.2d at 252. In that ease, the State of Florida challenged a federal court’s jurisdiction under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (the “Indian Gaming Act” or the “Act”). 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2721. Passed by Congress under the Indian Commerce Clause, U.S. Const., art. I, § 8, cl. 3, the Indian Gaming Act explicitly authorizes a tribe to bring suit in federal court against a state in order to compel the state’s performance of duties under the Act. The Supreme Court held that, “notwithstanding Congress’ clear intent to abrogaté the States’ sovereign immunity, the Indian Commerce Clause does not grant jurisdiction over a State that does not consent to be sued.” Seminole Tribe, 517 U.S. at -, 116 S.Ct. at 1119, 134 L.Ed.2d at 261. Absent a valid exercise of congressional power to abrogate a state’s sovereign immunity, the Supreme Court determined that Florida was entitled to dismissal for lack of jurisdiction in federal court.

In Seminole Tribe, the Supreme Court refused to follow — in fact, it expressly overruled — its decision in Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co., 491 U.S. 1, 109 S.Ct. 2273, 105 L.Ed.2d 1 (1989), a case wherein a plurality of the Court decided that Congress had the power to abrogate a state’s sovereign immunity under the Interstate Commerce Clause, which — like the Indian Commerce Clause — is found in article I, section 8 of the Constitution. U.S. Const., art. I, § 8, cl. 3. Characterizing the Union Gas decision as a “solitary departure from established law,” 517 U.S. at-, 116 S.Ct. at 1128, 134 L.Ed.2d at 273, the Seminole Tribe Court explained that Congress may not use its article I powers to circumvent the constitutional limita[1332]*1332tions place upon federal jurisdiction by the Eleventh Amendment.

Consistent with the holding in Seminole Tribe, FDOC is entitled to dismissal if Congress passed the FLSA solely pursuant to the Commerce Clause. FDOC suggests that Congress did just that. This court agrees.

III.

The plaintiffs do not deny that the FLSA was enacted pursuant to the Interstate Commerce Clause. They suggest, however, that the Interstate Commerce Clause was not the only basis for enactment of the FLSA. They urge the court to consider the Fourteenth Amendment as an alternative source of power.

The plaintiffs urge consideration of the Fourteenth Amendment because the Supreme Court has said that the Fourteenth Amendment — unlike the Indian and Interstate Commerce Clauses — provides a valid basis for congressional abrogation of a state’s sovereign immunity. In Seminole Tribe, the Court explained as follows:

In Fitzpatrick [v. Bitzer, 427 U.S. 445, 96 S.Ct. 2666, 49 L.Ed.2d 614 (1976)], we recognized that the Fourteenth Amendment, by expanding federal power at the expense of state autonomy, had fundamentally altered the balance of state and federal power struck by the Constitution.

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975 F. Supp. 1330, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21596, 1996 WL 911226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walden-v-florida-department-of-corrections-flnd-1996.