SUBJECT:
Title
Request Approval of Settlement Agreement and Release Documents Covering All Plaintiffs in the Following Two (2) Lawsuits Filed in the Middle District of Florida, Ocala Division (Budget Impact - Expenditure of $1,175,000 to be paid from Account EF300522-599101, Reserve for Contingencies)
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INITIATOR: |
DEPARTMENT: |
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Matthew G. Minter, County Attorney |
Legal |
DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND:
1. Ernest Riddling, Jr., Angela Tutino, Daniel Clifford, Jr., Clifford Grier, Kimberla Cronmiller, Dennis Cronmiller and Daniel Kauffman, Case No. 5:19-cv-193-Oca-30PRL (referenced below as the “Riddling” case).
2. Daniel D. Garcia, Joseph L. Amigliore, Scott Chappell, Chris Cooksey, Pamela Driggers, Scott Gragen, Justin Harrington, Christopher Hays, Todd Hime, Murrel Liverman, David C. Mills, John M. Nowery, Thomas Reeves, Joseph Rinaudo, II, Miguel Rioseco, Chris Trubelhorn (Plaintiffs) and Patrick Asselin (opt-in Plaintiff) Case No. 5:19-cv-00458-JSM-PRL (referenced below as the “Garcia” case).
The above-listed former (Riddling Plaintiffs) and current (Garcia Plaintiffs) employees of Marion County Fire Rescue filed Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claims in the referenced cases, claiming entitlement to back pay for unpaid overtime wages in the case of the Riddling suit, and back pay for unpaid overtime and ongoing wages in the Garcia suit. During the disputed time periods, Marion County had consistently classified each of these individuals as exempt management employees under the FLSA. Each of the Plaintiffs worked in the position of “District Captain,” meaning that they were typically supervising four to six fire stations. The Fire Captain’s Collective Bargaining Agreement had expressly stated that the Captains were exempt from FLSA overtime pay. However, under the FLSA, such agreements are not binding on the court in these cases, and a party cannot “bargain away” his or her FLSA rights. Marion County has been rather unique in its utilization of the “District Captain” job classification, compared to other fire departments. It is more common in fire departments around Florida, and the Country, to find “Station Captains” and then “Battalion Chiefs.” These lawsuits presented two basic issues: (1) Were the Captains properly designated as “exempt” from the FLSA, and, if not, (2) what is the measure of overtime compensation they are owed. While case law presents several general rules that are considered in these cases, each claim is determined on a case by case basis. The job title of the individual is not controlling; rather, the determination whether an individual is correctly classified as exempt managerial is based on the “primary duties” performed by the individual. Each of the Plaintiffs took the position in this litigation that their primary duty was that of a “first responder,” which would mean that they should not have been exempt. Marion County’s position has been that the primary duty of these individuals was that of management level employees who, nevertheless, also responded to fires and other emergencies based on the demands of the situation.
FLSA cases are very time intensive, and expensive to litigate, in that they involve both many depositions and thousands of pages of discovery that must be reviewed. The County Attorney’s Office engaged the services of Attorney Benton Wood from Fisher Philips, LLP, an outside labor attorney to represent the County in this case. The County Attorney’s Office and MCFR staff aided Mr. Wood to reduce his expenditures. In an FLSA case, if the employer loses, they not only pay the unpaid overtime wages, but then basically double that amount in liquidated damages as a penalty, and they are also responsible to pay the attorney fees for the employees, which can become quite costly. Before negotiating the attached settlement agreements, Mr. Wood engaged in intensive discovery to, in effect, perform a due diligence analysis to make the best recommendation to the Board. This discovery included multiple depositions, most of which were attended by the County Attorney as well. The general conclusion reached following that discovery was that there were sufficient “disputed issues of material fact” between the witnesses and parties that the County would not be likely to prevail on pre-trial summary judgment motions - meaning that the cases would have to be tried to a jury. Both parties would have evidence and arguments in support of their respective positions to present to the jury. The parties participated in Court-required settlement discussions (including mediation in Case No. 5:19-cv-193-Oca-30PRL). We ultimately concluded that it would be in the best interest of MCFR and the Board to settle these claims, given the cost of engaging in on-going discovery in Case No. 5:19-cv-00458-JSM-PRL, preparing for, and conducting the two trials, which would have exposed the County to hundreds of thousands more in damages and attorney fees.
As the Board knows, during the pendency of these cases, Chief Banta has undertaken a re-structuring of the Fire Department, eliminating the District Captain position, and creating both the Station Captain and the Battalion Chief positions. This stopped the on-going accrual of overtime claims in the Garcia case and will resolve many of the issues raised in these cases going forward.
One of the unique features of FLSA lawsuits is that the Federal District Judge exercises oversight of any proposed settlements and has the authority to reject settlements. In this matter, the settlement agreements in both cases have been approved by U.S. District Court Judge James S. Moody, Jr. Board Approval is the final step in concluding these two cases.
Attached hereto are the settlement agreements for the respective cases.
The settlement of Case No. 5:19-cv-193-Oca-30PRL (Riddling Plaintiffs) is for a total of $450,000.00, representing compensation to the seven Plaintiffs and including their attorney fees, with a separate settlement document for each Plaintiff.
The settlement of Case No. 5:19-cv-00458-JSM-PRL (Garcia Plaintiffs) is for a total of $725,000.00 representing compensation to all seventeen plaintiffs and including their attorney fees.
BUDGET/IMPACT:
Expenditure of $1,175,000 to be paid from Account EF300522-599101, Reserve for Contingencies. Note: While the foregoing represents the entire settlement amounts for each lawsuits, because the settlements involve the payment of back wages and benefits, there will be an additional amount the County will have to pay based on taxes and benefit accruals for each of the Plantiffs.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
Board Motion to approve all settlement agreements in both FLSA lawsuits listed herein and authorize the Chairman to execute the attached Settlement Agreements.
Attachments.
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