Opinion ID: 2968121
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Overtime Claim

Text: The Garofolos began their employment as resident managers for Heslep on November 2, 1998 and continued in this capacity until their termination in July 2003. The Garofolos claim that from October 2000 to July 2003, they regularly worked more than 40 hours per GAROFOLO v. DONALD B. HESLEP ASSOC. 5 week without compensation for overtime. During this period, the Garofolos never sought to modify their employment agreement to reflect that 40 hours was not a fair estimate of their workweek. Nor did they submit any requests for overtime pay during this period. The Garofolos submitted their only request for overtime compensation in 1999, and they were paid accordingly. The Garofolos never requested overtime pay after 1999 because a Regional Manager, Edward Pawlowski, told them that submitting overtime requests doesn’t look good. J.A. at 93-94. Accordingly, from January 2000 until March 2003, the Garofolos submitted monthly certifications affirming an estimated workweek of 40 hours or less.3 In addition, the Garofolos never requested overtime compensation in their payroll check sheets after 1999. Nevertheless, although the Garofolos did not request overtime compensation as provided in their employment agreement, they continued to talk with Mr. Pawlowski about their overtime work. Appellants’ Br. at 6. On October 20, 2003, the Garofolos filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, seeking to recover overtime wages pursuant to § 7(a) of the FLSA.4 As the factual basis for this claim, the Garofolos submitted time charts, estimating the number of hours they worked per week from October 2000 to July 2003. The charts, however, were not based upon contemporaneous records of actual work time. Rather, in 2003, Edna Garofolo prepared these estimates retroactively by calculating the number of hours the storage facility was open per week, and then subtracting any time they spent away from the facility on personal appointments.5 3 The Garofolos submitted no time certifications from April to July of 2003. 4 Section 7(a) provides that: Except as otherwise provided in this section, no 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 times the regular rate at which he is employed. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a) (2004). 5 The Garofolos estimated the time they spent on personal appointments by referring to calendars they kept from 2000 to 2003. 6 GAROFOLO v. DONALD B. HESLEP ASSOC. The district court granted summary judgment to Heslep on the grounds that the Garofolos’ overtime claim was barred by 29 C.F.R. § 785.23 (2004), a Department of Labor regulation interpreting the FLSA. Specifically, section 785.23 provides that: An employee who resides on his employer’s premises on a permanent basis or for extended periods of time is not considered as working all the time he is on the premises. Ordinarily, he may engage in normal private pursuits and thus have enough time for eating, sleeping, entertaining, and other periods of complete freedom from all duties when he may leave the premises for purposes of his own. It is, of course, difficult to determine the exact number of hours worked under these circumstances and any reasonable agreement of the parties which takes into consideration all of the pertinent facts will be accepted. . . . 29 C.F.R. § 785.23 (2004) (emphasis added). The district court held that the agreement to compensate the Garofolos for 40 hours per week was a reasonable agreement within the meaning of section 785.23. In particular, the court ruled that the 40 hour estimate was reasonable, inasmuch as the Garofolos enjoyed considerable time on the job for private pursuits and were expected to divide their work so as to accomplish as many tasks as possible within a 40 hour schedule. As further evidence of the agreement’s reasonableness, the district court noted that the Garofolos were entitled to receive overtime pay if either employee worked more than 40 hours in a given week. The district court also held that the Garofolos’ time charts were legally insufficient to put in issue the reasonableness of the employment agreement. The court noted that the Garofolos calculated these estimates on the assumption that they were working every hour that the storage facility was open. The court observed, however, that section 785.23 establishes a presumption that employees residing on the employer’s premises are not working the entire time they are on the premises. See Jarrett v. ERC Properties, Inc., 211 F.3d 1078, 1082 (8th Cir. 2000) (discussing presumption that resident employees are not working the entire time they are on the job). Because the Garofolos produced no evidence rebutting the presumption established by section 785.23, the district court held that the time charts failed to GAROFOLO v. DONALD B. HESLEP ASSOC. 7 create a triable issue of fact concerning the agreement’s reasonableness. The district court accordingly entered summary judgment in favor of Heslep and dismissed the Garofolos’ complaint with prejudice. This appeal followed.