Martinez v. Hilton Hotels Corp., No. 10 Civ. 7688(JLC), 2013 WL 1087211 (S.D.N.Y. March 15, 2013).
The Court denied the defendants’ (the employers) motions for summary judgment. The defendants tried to get the case dismissed by arguing that the plaintiffs (the employees) qualified for the executive exemption making them not entitled to overtime. The defendants also tried to have the court calculate overtime damages using the fluctuating work week method.
The plaintiffs were housekeeping managers and assistant housekeeping managers who worked at the defendants’ hotel. The plaintiffs consistently worked over 40 hrs per workweek and were never paid overtime. The Court denied the motion for summary judgment regarding the executive exemption because both parties disputed what the plaintiffs’ primary duties were, whether the plaintiffs “customarily and regularly” directed the work of two or more people and whether any particular weight was given to the plaintiffs’ “suggestions and recommendations” for hiring or firing staff.
The Court also denied the defendants’ motion to calculate the overtime damages using the fluctuating work week method. The Court stated that it’s unclear whether there was a “clear and mutual understanding” that a fixed salary was intended to compensate the employee for all the hours worked. There was no mention in the plaintiffs’ employment letters that their salary included the hours they worked over 40 or if plaintiffs were required to work over 40 hours per workweek.
The Court’s decision in this case could help employees recover more money. “Under the fluctuating work week method, the regular hourly rate is determined by dividing the fixed weekly salary by the number of hours the employee actually works in a particular week; the employee then receives one-half his or her regular rate of pay for all hours worked over forty per week.” For example, if an employee worked 50 hours per week and was paid a set salary of $1,000 per week, under this method the employee would only be owed $100 for unpaid overtime. However, using the time and a half method the employee would be owed $375 for unpaid overtime, based on the same amount of hours worked and salary received in the example above.
If you are receiving a fixed salary regardless of the amount of hours you work each week, please contact the employment lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer, (212) 300-0375, to schedule a free consultation so that we can discuss your rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law.