Zorrilla v. Carlson Restaurants Inc.

255 F. Supp. 3d 465, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88242
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMay 25, 2017
Docket14 Civ. 2740 (AT) (GWG)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 255 F. Supp. 3d 465 (Zorrilla v. Carlson Restaurants Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zorrilla v. Carlson Restaurants Inc., 255 F. Supp. 3d 465, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88242 (S.D.N.Y. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ANALISA TORRES, District Judge:

Plaintiffs bring a nationwide wage-and-hour collective action, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., and nine state-specific class actions, with each class alleging violations of the labor and/or the unfair [469]*469competition laws of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York. See Fourth Amended Class Action Complaint (“FAC”), ECF No. 389. Now before the Court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss certain state-law claims. ECF No. 399. Specifically, Defendants argue that, as a matter of statutory and regulatory interpretation, the following claims fail: (1) the New Jersey tip-pooling claim, FAC ¶¶ 645-65 (part of the eleventh cause of action); (2) the Connecticut uniform claim, id. ¶¶ 780-84 (twenty-eighth cause of action); (3) the Michigan tip-credit claim, id. ¶¶ 827-38 (thirty-fourth cause of action); and (4) some of the California Unfair Competition Law claims, id. ¶¶ 687-724 (parts of the sixteenth through twentieth causes of action). Defendants also argue that the statute of limitations bars all of the California Labor Code claims. Id. ¶¶ 687-724 (parts of the sixteenth through twentieth causes of action).

For the reasons stated below, the Court GRANTS the motion to dismiss with respect to the New Jersey tip-pooling claim, the Connecticut uniform claim, and the Michigan tip-credit claim. The Court GRANTS IN PART the motion to dismiss the California Unfair Competition Law claims, and DENIES the motion with respect to the California Labor Code claims.

BACKGROUND1

I. The Parties

Defendants Carlson Restaurants Inc. and Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc. (the “Carlson Entities”) operate together as a hospitality and travel company employing more than 175,000 people. Id. ¶¶ 12-14. Defendant T.G.I. Friday’s Inc. (“T.G.I. Friday’s”), a restaurant chain, was at relevant times a wholly owned subsidiary of the Carlson Entities. Id. ¶ 151. Each Defendant “had. substantial control over Plaintiffs’ working conditions.” Id. ¶ 127. ■ And at -all relevant times, T.G.I. Friday’s “maintained ..control, oversight, and direction over Plaintiffs and similarly situated employees, including timekeeping, payroll, and other employment practices.” Id. ¶ 152.

Julio Zorrilla, Tashauna Reid, Matthew Mackey, Jose Fernandez, Benjamin Kramer, Amanda Stewart, Amber Swan, Kristine Zeffield, Sydni Smith, Nichole Marino, John Verdin, Jane Bateman, and Joseph Lombard (collectively, the “Named Plaintiffs”) are former tipped employees at T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants owned and/or operated by Defendants. Id. ¶¶ 60-125. The Named Plaintiffs worked at T.G.I. Friday’s located in New York, New Jersey, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, and Florida. -Id. ¶¶ 61, 66, 71, 76, 82, 87, 92, 97, 102, 107, 112,116,122.

II. Defendants’ Employment Practices

At issue in this motion are Plaintiffs’ allegations regarding three of Defendants’ employment practicés. First, Plaintiffs allege that although “Defendants paid Plaintiffs at a ‘tipped’ minimum wage rate,” id. ¶ 19, Defendants also maintained a policy and practice whereby Plaintiffs pooled their tips with non-tipped workers, e.g., id. ¶ 651, and performed “non-tip producing side work” such as “general cleaning,” e.g., id. ¶ 24.

Second, Plaintiffs allege that “Defendants maintained a policy and practice whereby tipped workers were required to [470]*470wear uniforms featuring the T.G.I. Friday’s logo.” Id. ¶ 46. Plaintiffs further allege that “Defendants did not supply tipped workers with a sufficient number of uniforms for multiple shifts,” but instead required Plaintiffs “to purchase” and “pay for the cleaning and maintenance of their [own] uniforms.” Id. ¶¶ 47-51.

■ Third, Plaintiff Swan, the sole Naméd Plaintiff from California, alleges that, pursuant to Defendants’ policies, Swan (1) “perform[ed] work off-the-clock and without compensation,” id. ¶ 691;- and (2) was not compensated for her labor within 30 days of the end. of her employment, id. ¶¶ 722-24.

III. Relevant Procedural History.

On April 17, 2014, Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit (the “First Complaint”) “seeking] to recover minimum wages, overtime compensation, spread-of-hours pay, misappropriated tips, uniform-related expenses-, unlawful deductions, and other wages for Plaintiffs and their similarly situated coworkers.” Class Action Compl. (the “First Compl.”) ¶ 1, ECF No. 1. The First Complaint alleges an opt-in collective action, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), on “behalf of [the original named plaintiffs] and all similarly situated current and former tipped workers employed at T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendants.’* Id. ¶ 106; see also id. ¶¶ 107-15. The First Complaint also alleges a class action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 consisting of “all similarly situated current and former tipped workers employed at T.G I. Friday’s in New York.” Id. ¶ 116; see also id. ¶¶ 116-31.

On August 1, 2014, the Court issued a Civil Case Management and Schéduling Order. ECF No. 31 (“Scheduling Order”), As part of the Scheduling Order, Plaintiffs represented that “if the Court grants Plaintiffs’ contemplated motion for FLSA conditional certification, after the opt-in period, Plaintiffs intend to move to amend to add additional state law claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and class representatives for those claims. Any motion to amend will be made within 30 days after the opt-in period expires.... ” Id. ¶ 3.

On January 20, 2015, the Court issued a Memorandum and Order conditionally certifying the FLSA collective action, and authorizing notice and expedited discovery. See Flood v. Carlson Rests. Inc., 14 Civ. 2740, 2015 WL 260436, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 20, 2015), ECF No. 116. On August 19, 2015, Plaintiffs sent Court-authorized notice to more than 40,000 tipped workers, and by December 19, 2016, the end of the opt-in period, approximately 4,588 workers had opted in. Decl. of Juno Turner ¶ 12, ECF No. 453; see also Order, ECF No. 287 (extending opt-in period to December 19,2015). Swan filed a consent-to-join form on September 29, 2015. ECF No. 248.

On January 19, 2016, Plaintiffs sought leave to file a Third Amended Class Action Complaint. ECF No. 345. In the proposed complaint, Swan was, for the first time, a named plaintiff.'Decl. of Justin M. Swartz Ex. A (“Proposed Third Am. Class Action Compl.”), ¶¶ 6, 92-96, 721-53. Defendants opposed the motion to amend, arguing inter alia that the addition of the new state-law claims would cause them undue prejudice. See, e.g., ECF No. 348, at 9-11. The Court granted Plaintiffs’ request to amend, stating:

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255 F. Supp. 3d 465, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88242, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zorrilla-v-carlson-restaurants-inc-nysd-2017.