Employment
FLSA

Where an employer's records of when an employee punched out is inconsistent with how long it would have taken the employee to close the store at the end of her shift, summary judgment was improperly granted to the employer on the employee's FLSA claim.

"The holiday hours, as well as her testimony regarding the time it took to open and close the store, provide a basis for arriving at a just and reasonable inference as to the uncompensated hours. As noted above, there is evidence in the record that she was the only person able to open and close the store, and that she spent at least 1-2 hours before and after those store hours preparing the store for business. Comparison of the hours for which she was paid with the hours of operation for the store, would yield a basis for determining the amount and extent of work as a matter of just and reasonable inference. Accordingly, the district court erred in requiring Brown to provide definite and certain evidence of her damages, and the evidence establishes a genuine issue of fact concerning damages under the proper standard."

Reversed.

06-3529 Brown v. Family Dollar Stores of Indiana, LP

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, McKinney, J., Rovner, J.

Full Text