Opinion ID: 171317
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Award of Liquidated Damages

Text: Oilind argues that the district court erred in awarding Ms. Kellogg liquidated damages after the jury found in her favor on the FLSA claim. Under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) an employer who violates the overtime provisions of the FLSA is liable for the unpaid wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. But there is a good-faith exception to liability for liquidated damages: [I]f the employer shows to the satisfaction of the court that the act or omission giving rise to such action was in good faith and that he had reasonable grounds for believing that his act or omission was not a violation of the [FLSA], . . . the court may, in its sound discretion, award no liquidated damages or award any amount thereof. . . . 29 U.S.C. § 260. We review for abuse of discretion the district court's ruling on liquidated damages under the FLSA. See Pabst v. Okla. Gas & Elec. Co., 228 F.3d 1128, 1136 (10th Cir.2000). Oilind's theory at trial was that Ms. Kellogg was not covered by the FLSA because she fell within what is known as the Motor Carrier Act (MCA) exemption. This exemption applies to employees with respect to whom the Secretary of Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the provisions of section 31502 of Title 49. 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1). The referenced statute permits the Secretary to prescribe requirements for . . . maximum hours of service of employees of . . . a motor private carrier, when needed to promote safety of operation. 49 U.S.C. § 31502(b)(2); see 49 U.S.C. § 13102(15) (defining motor private carrier). Because we have rejected Oilind's sole challenge to the jury's verdict that Ms. Kellogg was not an employee subject to the exemption, the remaining question is whether the district court abused its discretion in ruling that Oilind had not shown that it had acted in good faith with reasonable grounds for believing that Ms. Kellogg was not entitled to overtime wages under the FLSA. Oilind's claim of good faith and reasonable grounds rests on a 1995 decision from a compliance officer with the Wyoming Department of Employment and a 1999 letter from an investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor, both of which Oilind claims took the position that its safety supervisors were covered by the MCA exemption. We hold that the district court could properly be unpersuaded that Oilind reasonably relied upon these sources to deny Ms. Kellogg overtime wages. The Wyoming decision concerned a claim by a former employee of Oilind before the Wyoming Department of Employment for overtime wages under the FLSA. The claimant's position with Oilind was not described in the decision; it is apparent only that the claimant's job involved driving a truck and transporting canisters of gas. The compliance officer found that the claimant fell within the MCA exemption and that he was therefore not entitled to overtime wages. Integral to the officer's decision was a finding that the claimant had driven a truck on interstate trips in his former job, as the officer had interpreted the MCA to apply only to employees who traveled interstate or who could reasonably be expected to travel interstate. In contrast, the district court here found that [Ms. Kellogg's] job involved almost entirely intrastate travel, Aplt.App., Vol. I at 179. Ms. Kellogg testified (and there was no contrary evidence) that her only interstate travel was a single occasion on which she combined an automobile trip to pick up her children in Colorado with an exchange of equipment in Nebraska. The facts upon which the Wyoming decision rested being distinguishable from those in this case, the district court did not abuse its discretion by being unpersuaded that Oilind's asserted reliance on that decision was reasonable. In the three-page letter from the U.S. Department of Labor, an investigator discussed the FLSA status of various employees at the Worland office. Regarding the safety-supervisor position, the investigator said only that the safety supervisors are exempt from overtime as long as the U.S. Department of Transportation has the power to establish their qualifications and maximum hours of service under the Motor Carrier Act. Aplt.App., Vol. VII at 1239. This is not a definitive answer, reached after an application of the law to the facts. It is no more than a statement that the safety supervisors are exempt from the FLSA's overtime requirements if the requirements for exemption are satisfied. It was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to conclude that this letter provided no reasonable ground for reliance by Oilind. In addition, the district court appeared to disbelieve that Oilind actually relied on the decision and letter, noting that [Oilind] paid overtime wages to safety supervisors in other states with essentially the same job duties. Id., Vol. I at 179. Although Oilind attempted to distinguish the job of safety supervisor in an oilfield office from the job of safety supervisor in other offices, the court found such distinction artificial and without merit and a further reflection of Oilind's lack of good faith. Id. at 179-80. In conclusion, there are sound reasons for doubting both Oilind's actual reliance on the Wyoming decision or the Department of Labor letter and the reasonableness of any such reliance. The district court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting Oilind's justifications and awarding liquidated damages.