I always look for the easiest way out of a FLSA lawsuit. I use the word “easiest” in the most generic sense, as no magic bullet defense is truly easy. However, there are times when you catch lightning in a bottle, i.e. the jurisdictional defense. In a recent case, one company was able to use this defense/shield to dismiss a FLSA overtime suit.
The case is entitled Zheng v. Best Food In Town, LLC et al and was filed in federal court in the District of New Jersey. The plaintiff alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (“NJWHL”).
The plaintiff alleged that he was a salaried employee and worked as a kitchen helper for defendants with a fixed lump sum per month compensation. His duties included washing and cutting vegetables, frying and cooking rice, preparing meat, and cleaning.
He separated employment in May 2015. The plaintiff alleged that his employer engaged in a widespread pattern and practice of not paying a class of employees proper minimum wage and overtime compensation.
The court noted that to sustain a suit under the FLSA, an employee must work for an enterprise or business that “has employees engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or that has employees handling, selling, or otherwise working on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced for commerce by any person.” 29 U.S.C. § 203(s)(1)(a). This enterprise must have annual gross sales or business “not less than $500,000.” Id.
On this point, the company submitted individual and corporate tax returns to support the argument that the business did not reach this threshold. These documents included tax returns from 2013, 2014, and 2015; defendants’ gross corporate annual revenue ranged from $385,420 to $428,856. The plaintiff countered by asserting that these income tax records did not account for all of Best Food In Town’s sales. The court observed that, thus, the Plaintiff’s only evidence to rebut these documents was “an assertion of tax fraud.”
The court concluded that this lack of evidence was fatal. In a summary judgment proceeding, the non-moving party must make some showing of evidence from which a reasonable jury might return a verdict in his favor. All the Plaintiff did here was make an assertion. That did not and could not carry the day. Thus, the court ruled that the FLSA did not apply to the Company and dismissed the Complaint.
The Takeaway
How quick and effective! No jurisdiction because the dollar threshold was not met and the case is dismissed, early on. This will certainly not work in every case, but the moral of the story remains the same. Defense counsel should explore the possibility of a sure-fire, quick, easy way out. If you don’t look, you don’t find.
Always look…
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