Rejecting employer Timberline South’s argument, among others, that FLSA coverage did not apply because all of its timber harvesting occurred only within one state, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals nevertheless concluded that the commuting and meal break times should not have been included in the trial court’s calculation of overtime damages. Secretary of Labor v. Timberline South, LLC, 920 F.3d 1065 (6th Cir. 2019). The Sixth Circuit includes the federal courts in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
In Timberline, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) brought a collective action against the company, alleging violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA. Following discovery, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the DOL, awarding nearly $440,000 in unpaid overtime and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Timberline appealed the district court’s decision on several grounds.
First, the company argued that it was not subject to FLSA coverage because it harvests timber only in Michigan; it transports the timber to mills located only in Michigan; its contracts included cutting timber only in Michigan; and its heavy equipment was purchased from Michigan dealers. Therefore, asserted the company, it was not engaged in interstate commerce, a prerequisite to FLSA coverage. Rejecting that argument, the Sixth Circuit noted that Timberline’s large trucks and other heavy equipment were manufactured outside of Michigan, and therefore the company’s employees “handled” goods or materials produced in commerce. Similarly, in an issue of first impression in the Sixth Circuit, the Court of Appeals concurred with the Eleventh Circuit’s broad definition of the term “materials” under the FLSA, to mean not just raw components such as plastic or metal, but to encompass “the tools or other articles necessary for doing or making something.” Thus, because Timberline was using materials – i.e. its heavy equipment – in a manner significant to its operations (as opposed to the incidental use of materials such as pens, paper and other office consumables), the company was subject to FLSA coverage.
Next, the company contended that even if some of its employees were subject to the FLSA, others – its drivers – were exempt because they fell under the Motor Carrier Act (MCA), given that Timberline’s trucks are operated under U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) registration numbers, its drivers maintain commercial driver’s licenses, and...
