Opinion ID: 16304
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Office Workers

Text: 52 Section 207 of the FLSA provides in pertinent part: 53 ... [N]o employer shall employ any of his employees ... for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half the regular rate at which he is employed. 54 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1). The Secretary claims that office workers at Express were not paid for their overtime worked. It is well-settled that the Secretary's burden is met if it is proved that the employee has in fact performed work for which he or she was improperly compensated and if the employee produces sufficient evidence to show the amount and extent of that work as a matter of just and reasonable inference. See Reich v. Gateway Press, Inc., 13 F.3d 685, 701 (3d Cir.1994) (citing Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 U.S. 680, 687-88, 66 S.Ct. 1187, 90 L.Ed. 1515 (1946)). 55 The Secretary's claim for back wages was supported at trial by the testimony of Shirley Kenyon who presented an exhibit purporting to reflect the overtime due these employees. Kenyon's testimony was rebutted by Lynn Clayton's testimony which indicated that the employment dates Kenyon used were incorrect and that Kenyon assumed that each employee worked a 55-hour week, rather than the 45-hour week actually worked. Lynn Clayton further testified that her office employees were being paid time and a half for overtime hours worked prior to the Secretary's investigation. Although Clayton had changed her method of record keeping, she testified that the office employees were being paid the same amount today as they were getting paid before the Secretary's investigation. R. Vol. XI-214-15. The district court concluded that the Secretary failed to present sufficient credible evidence to support claims for back wages for the office workers. We perceive no error in this conclusion, and the Secretary fails to point to any evidence in the record and fails to cite any binding precedent to support its position that a violation of the Act occurred. The Secretary's citation of Nunn's Battery & Electric Co. v. Goldberg, 298 F.2d 516 (5th Cir.1962) offers no assistance to the court because in that case the Secretary introduced evidence into the record indicating that no explicit understanding existed between the parties as to the existence of a regular wage rate that is increased for overtime hours. The court pointed to abundant testimony by numerous employees that they were not told what their hourly rate of pay was. The Secretary points to no such evidence in the record and makes no inference in her brief to that effect. Based upon the limited briefing and record citation on this issue, the court cannot discern how the Secretary proved that a violation of the Act even occurred. 56 Because we agree with the district court that the Secretary failed to provide sufficient evidence to support her claims, we need not address whether the Secretary produced sufficient and accurate evidence of damages. 1 57 For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is affirmed. 58 AFFIRMED. 59