“A reasonable jury could find that the absence of any time sheets submitted during the two-year audit period, contrasted with the over 800 time sheets submitted in a four-month period two years later, is evidence that Levering failed to effectively communicate its policy—which did not change—to employees during the audit period,” Judge Jane L. Kelly said in the majority’s decision.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit revived an overtime payment suit against a residential care facility, determining that questions of fact remained if its employees knew about the facility’s break policies.
In a divided opinion on Tuesday, the federal appellate court ruling reversed the summary judgment motion in favor of Levering Regional Care Center and Reliant Care Management Co. in a suit brought by Vince Micone, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. The government alleged that Levering violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by deducting 30 minutes of pay every day from its employees for meal breaks, “even though it knew or should have known its employees routinely worked through those breaks.” The defendants argued that a temporary time sheet policy allowed employees to notify Levering when they worked through their lunch break.
