WILLIAM H. PAULEY, III, District Judge.
Plaintiffs bring this putative class action and collective action seeking unpaid overtime wages pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and New York Labor Law ("NYLL") against Acme American Environmental Co., Inc., Acme American Repairs, Inc., Acme American Refrigeration, Inc., and Factory Parts & Service Co., Inc. (collectively, the "Acme Group"); and Jeffrey Schwartz, Kenneth Stahn, David Estes, Birinder Madan, Derval Lazzari (collectively, the "Individual Defendants"). 29 U.S.C. § 201
Acme Environmental cleans commercial kitchen equipment. (Amended and Collective Class Action Complaint, dated May 11, 2012 ("Compl.") ¶ 18.) Acme Refrigeration installs refrigerators. Acme Repairs maintains and repairs commercial kitchen equipment. (CompI. ¶¶ 19-20.) And Factory Parts sells parts to the other corporations in the Acme Group. (CompI. ¶ 21.) The Acme Group serves a common clientele and operates out of a single location. (CompI. ¶ 36.) They share a supply room and cleaning chemicals and have a common bookkeeper, accountant, and general manager. Each company pays a proportional share of these employees' salaries. (CompI. ¶ 35.)
In 1945, Nathan Uretsky founded Acme Repairs. (CompI. ¶ 31.) Later, Uretsky incorporated Factory Parts to purchase parts and resell them to Acme Repairs. (CompI. ¶ 32.) In 1980, he surrendered his position as president of Acme Repairs to his stepson, Harvey Katzenberg. (CompI. ¶ 33.) Between 1980 and 2001, Katzenberg and Madan acquired Uretsky's equity interest in Acme Repairs and Factory Parts. (CompI. ¶ 33.) Katzenberg also incorporated two new companies: Acme Refrigeration in 1992 and Acme Environmental in 1997. (Compl. ¶ 33.) In 2001, Katzenberg sold his interests in Acme Environmental, Acme Refrigeration, Acme Repair, and Factory Parts to Lazzari. (CompI. ¶ 33.)
Today, Madan and Lazzari co-own each of the companies that comprise the Acme Group. (CompI. ¶¶ 24-25.) Along with the other Individual Defendants, they share offices at the Acme Group's facility. (Compl. ¶ 35.) Madan's workspace is at the center of the office space. (CompI. ¶ 43.) Acme Environmental employees referred to Madan as the "Big Boss" and Lazzari as the "Boss." (CompI. ¶¶ 24-25.) Schwartz sometimes warned Plaintiffs that they needed to improve the quality of their work or the "Big Boss" would be unhappy. (CompI. ¶ 43.) Madan advised one Plaintiff, Alex Duran, that when there was a problem Duran should come to him because he was in charge. (CompI. ¶ 44.) Although Madan never hired any of the Plaintiffs, he did hire three Acme Environmental employees. (Compl. ¶ 43.) Both Madan and Lazzari had the power to sign reimbursement checks. (Compl. ¶ 45, 48.) Lazzari often directed Plaintiffs and other Acme Environmental employees to clean the Acme Group office and, on at least one occasion, scheduled cleaners to perform work at a commercial kitchen. (Compl. ¶ 43.) Madan and Schwartz directed employees with requests for overtime to Lazzari. (Compl. ¶ 48.)
Schwartz, the President and co-owner of Acme Environmental, directs Acme Environmental employees. (Compl. ¶ 23.) He hires, fires, and disciplines them. (Compl. ¶ 41.) He also travels to work sites to supervise cleaning jobs. (Compl. ¶ 41.)
Plaintiffs worked as professional cleaners for Acme Environmental for varying periods between 2007 and 2011. As part of their employment, Plaintiffs traveled to client locations in the New York metropolitan area, where they provided cleaning services for commercial exhaust systems, including fans, hoods, ducts, and grease traps for commercial kitchens. Occasionally, on their arrival at a work site, Plaintiffs would see employees of another Acme Group company leaving. (Compl. ¶ 36.) At times, Plaintiffs would work with the employees from other Acme Group companies to complete a job. For example, Acme Environmental employees would clean parts, such as belts, that had been removed from appliances by Acme Repairs employees. (Compl. ¶ 38.) Plaintiffs allege that they worked in excess of forty hours per week but Defendants failed to pay them overtime wages.
On a motion to dismiss, courts accept the facts alleged in the complaint as true and construe all reasonable inferences in plaintiffs' favor.
To be liable under the FLSA and NYLL, a person must be an "employer."
When it comes to "employer" status under the FLSA, control is key.
"Under the `economic reality' test, the relevant factors include `whether the alleged employer (1) had the power to hire and fire the employees, (2) supervised and controlled employee work schedules or conditions of employment, (3) determined the rate and method of payment, and (4) maintained employment records.'"
But, although formal control is sufficient to establish employer liability, it is not essential.
The formal and functional tests for employment are not "rigid rule[s]."
Defendants argue that the Amended Complaint fails to allege sufficiently that the Corporate Moving Defendants or the Individual Moving Defendants were "employers" under the FLSA.
All of the companies within the Acme Group were under common control. (Compl. ¶¶ 22, 30, 34.) They operated from a single facility and shared key employees, including a bookkeeper, an accountant, and a general manager. (Compl. ¶ 35.) These companies shared a common clientele and worked for a common purpose: providing a full range of services to companies with commercial kitchens. (Compl. ¶¶ 36, 46, 49.) Plaintiffs assert that these facts establish that all three corporate defendants formed an integrated enterprise and share employer liability.
Under the FLSA, companies that are part of an "integrated enterprise" or "engaged in a joint venture" may nevertheless employ separate people and, absent control, are not liable for the separate employees ofjoint ventures.
Plaintiffs fail to allege that the Corporate Moving Defendants exercised formal control over them. While the Corporate Moving Defendants shared a common bookkeeper, accountant, and general manager, none of the Corporate Moving Defendants had the power to hire the Plaintiffs or other members of Acme Environmental. Plaintiffs do not allege that any of the Corporate Moving Defendants supervised or controlled their work schedules or payments, and they do not allege that the Corporate Moving Defendants maintained the records of Acme Environmental's employees. Although Plaintiffs allege that Madan and Lazzari supervised Schwartz, hired employees, and controlled pay rates, they do not allege that Madan or Lazarri did so in their capacities as owners or officers of the Corporate Moving Defendants. Further, Plaintiffs allege no theory under which Acme Environmental's acts can be imputed to the Corporate Moving Defendants.
Similarly, Plaintiffs fail to allege that the Corporate Moving Defendants had functional control over the Plaintiffs. To be sure, Acme Environmental shares offices with the other companies in the Acme Group, and all of the companies within the Acme Group shared cleaning supplies. But Acme Environmental does not share its cleaning business with other companies in the group. Its cleaning business is not fungible, and its professional cleaning services were not performed by employees of Acme Repair, Acme Refrigeration, or Factory Parts. Similarly, Acme Environmental's employees did not simply perform "a discrete line-job" integral to the Acme Group's "process of production."
As an "economic reality," the Corporate Moving Defendants had no control over Acme Environmental's cleaners. The bookkeeper, accountant, and general manager of the Acme Group provide a foil to illustrate this point. Unlike Plaintiffs, these shared employees were paid by each company within the group. (Compl. ¶ 35.) As they performed their duties to each company, their business shifted from one employer to another. And, as managers and administrators, their services were not for clients; they worked exclusively for the companies in the Acme Group. Each member of the Acme Group had functional control over the shared employees. By contrast, Acme Repairs, Acme Refrigeration, and Factory Parts had no control over Acme Environmental's cleaners. Because Plaintiffs fail to allege that the "economic reality" of the relationship between Plaintiffs and the Corporate Moving Defendants was one of control, they fail to state an FLSA or NYLL claim against the Corporate Moving Defendants.
Plaintiffs sufficiently allege that Madan and Lazarri had functional control over them. First, Plaintiffs allege that Madan hired three Acme Environmental employees. (CompI. ¶ 43.) Even though Madan did not hire any of the Plaintiffs, control "may be restricted, or exercised only occasionally."
Plaintiffs assert third-party beneficiary breach of contract claims and unjust enrichment claims against Defendants. "It is ancient law in New York that to succeed on a third party beneficiary theory, a non-party must be the intended beneficiary of the contract, not an incidental beneficiary to whom no duty is owed."
Here, Plaintiffs claim they are third-party beneficiaries to public works contracts. Specifically, they claim that "Defendants contracted with public agencies" and that they "are entitled to recover from Defendants the difference between the rate that they were paid to perform work under these contracts and the prevailing wage rate." (Compl. ¶ 104, 107.) Plaintiffs neither specify the Defendants who contracted with public agencies nor make any specific allegations regarding the content or existence of these contracts. Therefore, these threadbare allegations do not plausibly state a claim.
Plaintiffs' unjust enrichment claims also fail against the Corporate Moving Defendants. Plaintiffs allege that "Defendants, by their policies and actions, benefited from, and increased their profits and personal compensation by failing to pay Plaintiffs." (Compl. ¶ 119.) But, given that the Corporate Moving Defendants did not employ Acme Environmental's cleaners and were not responsible for their wages, the complaint fails to state how Acme Repairs, Acme Refrigeration, or Factory Parts benefited from Acme Environmental's failure to pay its employees overtime wages. By contrast, the Individual Moving Defendants had control over Acme Environmental's cleaners and had an interest in Acme Environmental such that they would benefit from Acme Environmental's failure to pay overtime wages. Accordingly, the complaint states a claim of unjust enrichment against Madan and Lazzari.
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motions to dismiss are granted in part and denied in part. The Corporate Moving Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' FLSA, NYLL, and unjust enrichment claims is granted. The Individual Moving Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' FLSA, NYLL, and unjust enrichment claims is denied. Plaintiffs' breach of contract claims against all Moving Defendants are dismissed with leave to amend. Plaintiff must file and serve any amended complaint by December 21, 2012. The Clerk of the Court is directed to terminate the motions pending at ECF No. 53.
SO ORDERED.