Source: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/824-f-3d-890-683779289
Timestamp: 2020-07-07 09:31:15
Document Index: 299566639

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 201', '§ 207', '§ 207', '§ 207', '§ 207', '§ 216', '§ 255', '§ 216', '§ 260']

824 F.3d 890 (9th Cir. 2016), 14-56421, Flores v. City of San Gabriel - Federal Cases - Case Law - VLEX 683779289
Docket Nº: 14-56421, 14-56514
Citation: 824 F.3d 890
Opinion Judge: Andre M. Davis, Circuit Judge:
Party Name: DANNY FLORES; ROBERT BARADA; KEVIN WATSON; VY VAN; RAY LARA; DANE WOOLWINE; RIKIMARU NAKAMURA; CHRISTOPHER WENZEL; SHANNON CASILLAS; JAMES JUST; STEVE RODRIGUES; ENRIQUE DEANDA, Plaintiffs-Appellees/Cross-Appellants, v. CITY OF SAN GABRIEL, Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee and CRUZ HERNANDEZ, Plaintiff-Appellee, and GILBERT LEE; RENE LOPEZ, ...
Attorney: Brian P. Walter (argued) and Alex Y. Wong, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Los Angeles, California, for Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Joseph N. Bolander (argued), Brandi L. Harper, and Christopher L. Gaspard, Gaspard Castillo Harper, APC, Ontario, California, for Plaintiffs-Appellees/Cross-Appell...
Judge Panel: Before: Stephen S. Trott, Andre M. Davis[*], and John B. Owens, Circuit Judges. OWENS, Circuit Judge, with whom TROTT, Circuit Judge, joins, concurring. John B. Owens, Circuit Judge, with whom TROTT, Circuit Judge, joins, concurring:
824 F.3d 890 (9th Cir. 2016)
DANNY FLORES; ROBERT BARADA; KEVIN WATSON; VY VAN; RAY LARA; DANE WOOLWINE; RIKIMARU NAKAMURA; CHRISTOPHER WENZEL; SHANNON CASILLAS; JAMES JUST; STEVE RODRIGUES; ENRIQUE DEANDA, Plaintiffs-Appellees/Cross-Appellants,
CRUZ HERNANDEZ, Plaintiff-Appellee,
GILBERT LEE; RENE LOPEZ, Plaintiffs,
CITY OF SAN GABRIEL, Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee
Argued and Submitted, Pasadena, California February 10, 2016.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. D.C. No. 2:12-cv-04884-JGB- JCG. Jesus G. Bernal, District Judge, Presiding.
Brian P. Walter (argued) and Alex Y. Wong, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Los Angeles, California, for Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.
Joseph N. Bolander (argued), Brandi L. Harper, and Christopher L. Gaspard, Gaspard Castillo Harper, APC, Ontario, California, for Plaintiffs-Appellees/Cross-Appellants.
Before: Stephen S. Trott, Andre M. Davis[*], and John B. Owens, Circuit Judges. OWENS, Circuit Judge, with whom TROTT, Circuit Judge, joins, concurring.
Andre M. Davis, Circuit Judge:
Plaintiffs-Appellees and Cross-Appellants Danny Flores, Robert Barada, Kevin Watson, Vy Van, Ray Lara, Dane Woolwine, Rikimaru Nakamura, Christopher Wenzel, Shannon Casillas, James Just, Steve Rodrigues, and Enrique Deanda and Plaintiff-Appellee Cruz Hernandez (collectively,
" Plaintiffs" ) are current or former police officers employed by the City of San Gabriel, California (" City" ). The Plaintiffs brought suit against the City for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (" FLSA" ), 29 U.S.C. § § 201-19, alleging that the City failed to include payments of unused portions of the Plaintiffs' benefits allowances when calculating their regular rate of pay, resulting in a lower overtime rate and a consequent underpayment of overtime compensation. The Plaintiffs asserted that the City's violation of the FLSA was " willful," entitling them to a three-year statute of limitations for violations of the Act, and sought to recover their unpaid overtime compensation and liquidated damages.
Under the FLSA, an employer must pay its employees premium overtime compensation of one and one-half times the regular rate of payment for any hours worked in excess of forty in a seven-day work week. Cleveland v. City of Los Angeles, 420 F.3d 981, 984-85 (9th Cir. 2005) (citing § 207(a)). The " regular rate" is defined as " all remuneration for employment paid to, or on behalf of, the employee," subject to a number of exclusions set forth in the Act. § 207(e). The FLSA also provides " a limited exemption from the overtime limit to public employers of law enforcement personnel or firefighters." Adair v. City of Kirkland, 185 F.3d 1055, 1059 (9th Cir. 1999) (citing § 207(k)). The partial overtime exemption in § 207(k) " increases the overtime limit slightly and it gives the employer greater flexibility to select the work period over which the overtime limit will be calculated." Id. at 1060 (citation omitted).
The FLSA provides a private cause of action for employees to seek unpaid wages owed to them under its provisions. § 216(b). The Act has a two-year statute of limitations for claims unless the employer's violation was " willful," in which case the statute of limitations is extended to three years. § 255(a). An employer who violates the FLSA's overtime provisions is liable in the amount of the employee's unpaid overtime compensation, in addition to an equal amount in liquidated damages. § 216(b). The Act provides a defense to liquidated damages for an employer who establishes that it acted in good faith and had reasonable
grounds to believe that its actions did not violate the FLSA. § 260.
In 2009, the City paid $2,389,468.73 to or on behalf of its employees pursuant to its Flexible Benefits Plan, and it paid $1,116,485.77 of that amount, or 46.725% of total plan contributions, to employees for unused benefits. While the exact figures vary each year, the percentage of the total plan contributions that the City pays...