Source: http://openjurist.org/113/f3d/202
Timestamp: 2013-12-13 00:07:12
Document Index: 380511732

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 201', '§ 1983', '§ 202', '§ 206', '§ 203', '§ 203', '§ 203']

113 F3d 202 Villarreal v. A Woodham | OpenJurist
113 F. 3d 202 - Villarreal v. A Woodham	Home113 f3d 202 villarreal v. a woodham
113 F3d 202 Villarreal v. A Woodham 113 F.3d 202
65 USLW 2793, 133 Lab.Cas. P 33,535,3 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1665,10 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 939
Frutoso VILLARREAL, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.William A. WOODHAM, Sheriff, Gadsden County, Gadsden County,Defendants-Appellees.
No. 96-2146.
Frutoso Villarreal, Raiford, FL, pro se.
Frank A. Baker, Marianna, FL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Julius F. Parker, Jr., The Parker Law Firm, Tallahassee, FL, Hal Richmond, Quincy, FL, for Defendants-Appellees.
Appellant Frutoso Villarreal ("Villarreal") appeals the district court's order dismissing his complaint for failure to state a claim under either the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-209, or 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Villarreal alleges that when he was a pretrial detainee in the Gadsden County Correctional Facility ("GCCF"), Sheriff Woodham required him to perform translation services for other inmates, medical personnel, and court personnel. Villarreal contends that Sheriff Woodham told him that the Sheriff's Department would compensate him for his services, but he never received any compensation. In an issue of first impression for our circuit, we hold that pretrial detainees who perform services at the direction of correction officials and for the benefit of the correctional facility are not covered under the FLSA. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
This court reviews de novo the dismissal of a complaint for failure to state a claim, accepting all allegations in the complaint as true and construing the facts in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. Harper v. Thomas, 988 F.2d 101, 103 (11th Cir.1993). A district court may not dismiss a complaint "unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Pataula Elec. Membership Corp. v. Whitworth, 951 F.2d 1238, 1240 (11th Cir.1992) (quotations omitted). Additionally, "[a] determination of employment status under the FLSA ... is a question of law subject to de novo review." Antenor v. D & S Farms, 88 F.3d 925, 929 (11th Cir.1996).1
Congress enacted the FLSA to eliminate "in industries engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, ... labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers" because such conditions "constitute[ ] an unfair method of competition in commerce[.]" 29 U.S.C. § 202(a). In general, work constitutes employment when there is an expectation of in-kind benefits in exchange for services. See Tony & Susan Alamo Foundation v. Secretary of Labor, 471 U.S. 290, 301 & 303-04, 105 S.Ct. 1953, 1961 & 1962-63, 85 L.Ed.2d 278 (1985).
The minimum wage provisions of the FLSA apply only to workers who are "employees" within the meaning of the Act. 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1). Under the FLSA, an "employee" is defined as "any individual employed by an employer." 29 U.S.C. § 203(e)(1). An "employer" includes "any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee and includes a public agency,...." 29 U.S.C. § 203(d). To "employ" is defined as to "suffer or permit to work." 29 U.S.C. § 203(g). The Supreme Court has held that courts should apply these terms in light of the "economic reality" of the relationship between the parties. Goldberg v. Whitaker House Co-op., Inc., 366 U.S. 28, 33, 81 S.Ct. 933, 936-37, 6 L.Ed.2d 100 (1961).
The economic reality test includes inquiries into:
Bonnette v. California Health & Welfare Agency, 704 F.2d 1465, 1470 (9th Cir.1983). In Garcia v. San Antonio Metro. Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528, 546-47, 105 S.Ct. 1005, 1015-16, 83 L.Ed.2d 1016 (1985), the Supreme Court overruled National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833, 852, 96 S.Ct. 2465, 2474, 49 L.Ed.2d 245 (1976), which had erected a bar to the application of the federal minimum wage to state employees. In overruling Usery, the Court opened the possibility that prison authorities might be deemed FLSA employers if the Bonnett