Duane Morris Class Action Review - 2023 - Report - Page 167
*26. After weighing the totality of the factors, the court determined that the nurses were
the defendants’ employees, since the defendants exercised excessive control over the
nurses by supervising their performance, setting their wage rates, and controlling their
work schedules. Id. at *26-36. Further, the court held that the defendants failed to
establish the good faith defense since the evidence clearly demonstrated that the
defendants could not have classified their nurses as independent contractors in good
faith prior to seeking legal counsel in June 2018. Id. at *37. Finally, the court held that
the record reflected that the defendants failed to accurately record the nurses’ total
overtime pay and total additions or deductions from wages for each pay period.
Accordingly, the court entered judgment in favor of the DOL, and requested updated
calculations of back pay and liquidated damages from the parties.
In yet another victory by the DOL, in U.S. Department Of Labor v. Kynd Hearts Home
Healthcare, LLC, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 218947 (E.D. Va. Dec. 5, 2022), the DOL
alleged that the defendants violated the FLSA by failing to compensate their employees
for overtime hours and failing to maintain records. The DOL moved for summary
judgment. The court granted the DOL’s motion for summary judgment and granted in
part its request for injunctive relief. Id. at *17. Citing the defendants’ payroll records, the
court held that the defendants violated the overtime requirements by explicitly paying
the regular rate to employees for time worked in excess of 40 hours each week, and by
reducing employees’ regular rate in weeks when overtime was worked. Id. at *7-8. The
court further held that because the records did not accurately reflect the overtime due to
employees, the defendants violated Section 11(c) of the FLSA. Id. at *8. In regards to
the statute of limitations, the court applied the FLSA’s three-year statute of limitations
for a willful FLSA violation since the defendants were previously investigated for
overtime violations. Id. at *9-10. For monetary damages, the court held that the
defendants were liable for $759,698.70 in back wages pursuant to Section 16(c) of the
FLSA, plus an additional $759,698.70 in liquidated damages. Id. at *17-19. Finally, the
court held that while a prospective injunction was warranted, a restitutionary injunction
was not necessary. Accordingly, the court granted the DOL’s motion for summary
judgment and granted in part the DOL’s request for injunctive relief. Id.
The DOL lost one notable case in the Eighth Circuit in 2022. In U.S. Department Of
Labor v. Alpha & Omega USA Inc., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 19431 (8th Cir. July 14,
2022), the DOL filed a lawsuit on behalf of 21 drivers alleging that Travelon, a
Minnesota corporation that facilitates non-emergency medical transportation,
misclassified its drivers as independent contractors and failed to pay them overtime.
The district court awarded damages in accordance with the DOL’s computation of back
wages, which it found were reasonable. The district court also awarded liquidated
damages because Travelon failed to show good faith and reasonable grounds for
believing it was not in violation of the FLSA. Travelon appealed. On appeal, the Eighth
Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the DOL and
remanded for further proceedings. Id. at *1. Travelon argued that the district court erred
in classifying the drivers as employees under the FLSA, in calculating back pay, and in
awarding liquidated damages. The Eighth Circuit explained that when an employment
relationship is in question, many courts decide whether workers are independent
contractors or employees by applying the multi-factor “economic realities” test. Id. at *5.
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Duane Morris Class Action Review – 2023
