Young v. Harvest Land Co-Op, Inc.

MELANIE YOUNG, Plaintiff, v. HARVEST LAND CO-OP, INC., Defendant.

No. 1:18-cv-03976-DLP-TWP

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION

May 19, 2020

ORDER

On December 17, 2018, Plaintiff Melanie Young filed a Complaint against her former employer, Defendant Harvest Land Co-Op, Inc. ("Harvest Land"), asserting one claim of failure to pay overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). (Dkt. 1). Presently pending before this Court are the Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Dkt. [73] and the Defendant's Cross Motion for Summary Judgment, Dkt. [77]. The Plaintiff seeks partial summary judgment on six of the nine affirmative defenses pled by the Defendant in its Answer to Plaintiff's Complaint. (Dkt. 13). The Defendant denies liability and seeks resolution of the Plaintiff's claim through the entry of summary judgment. These motions are now fully briefed and ripe for decision.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In February 1990, Plaintiff Melanie Young¹ was hired by the Madison County Co-Op, which later merged into a multi-county organization, Ag One Co-Op.(Young Dep. 11:21-12:7, June 10, 2019, Dkt. 79-1 at 5). On September 1, 2007, Ag One Co-Op merged with Harvest Land. (Answer 2, Dkt. 79-7 at 2).

Harvest Land provides support services to farmers and other customers. (Complaint 2, Dkt. 79-3 at 2). While Ms. Young held various positions throughout her tenure, she was employed as the Senior Department Associate in the Liquid Fuels Department at Harvest Land starting around 2012 until her departure in November 2018. (Young Dep. 21:7-9, Dkt. 79-1 at 7, Complaint 2, Dkt. 79-3 at 2).

As the Senior Department Associate, Ms. Young was expected to fulfill the following job duties and responsibilities:

• Support Harvest Land Co-Op's stated Vision, Mission, and Business Values.

• Project a positive attitude to customers and employees at all times.

• Provide outstanding and courteous customer service.

• Carry out Harvest Land's compliance with "Duty to Warn" obligations with existing or new customers.

• Actively work to promote "Full Line" approach for customer buying.

• Maintain inventory reporting (energy position report).

• Work with PSR's in areas of record keeping.

• Coordinate with Controller and IT Support on updates or any problems with the degree day and Energy-Trac programs.

• Oversee inter-branch transfers.

• Oversee the processing of all sale ticket entries.

• Oversee the processing of all customer files.

• Oversee the processing of tank master entries.

• Oversee the processing of phone calls [and] that they are done in a timely and professional manner.

• Answer customer questions concerning invoicing and account statements.

• Receive Liquid Fuel location customer orders.

• Post prepayments and bookings.

• Invoice customers for products and services purchased.

• Prepare daily bank deposit in accordance with Harvest Land's policies. This includes checking daily receipts against actual cash, and entering deposit correctly in Harvest Land's computer system.

• Maintain branch files for customer, vendor, and risk information.

• Maintain adequate office supplies.

• Produce month-end and year-end reports from Harvest Land's computer system.

• Keep the Liquid Fuels Manager informed of operational, customer, vendors, or employee issues that may arise.

• Coordinate service calls and daily operational duties with Sr. Operations associate and/or appropriate team members.

• Perform additional work-related tasks/duties as assigned by management as deemed necessary for the success of Harvest Land

(Dkt. 79-1 at 28-29). On June 10, 2019, Ms. Young reviewed her job description and was given the opportunity to describe her day-to-day responsibilities. According to the Plaintiff, her primary duties involved providing full time secretarial support for the Liquid Fuels Department at Harvest Land. On a day-to-day basis, Ms. Young was primarily responsible for handling paperwork and completing data entry tasks. (Young Dep. 22:20-23, 26:8-9, Dkt. 79-1 at 8-9, Young Aff. ¶ 3, February 14, 2020, Dkt. 75-1). Ms. Young's job duties included taking orders from call-in customers who needed products, placing fuel orders, completing purchase orders, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and maintaining the fuel inventory for "five bulk plants, two stations, and . . . the Tom Wood car lot." (Young Dep. 23:3-16, Dkt. 79-1 at 8). According to Ms. Young, she essentially served as the "middleman" between Harvest Land and the customer. (Young Aff. ¶ 11, Dkt. 75-1). In explaining her role, Ms. Young stated:

Customers would call Harvest Land with orders for liquid fuel products and the deadline for the delivery. I would then send these orders to Harvest Land's drivers. The drivers would then complete the order. Drivers did their own routing, scheduling, and determined whether to charge extra fees . . . After completing the delivery, the drivers would return an invoice ticket to me. I would input the information from the ticket into Harvest Land's computer program which would generate a bill for the customer.

(Young Aff. ¶ 10-12, Dkt. 75-1). In addition to product orders and handling matters for call-in customers, Ms. Young was also responsible for checking the fuel levels in Harvest Land's fuel tanks, and, if necessary, submitting an order to have the tanks refilled. (Young Aff. ¶ 14-16, Dkt. 75-1). Even though Ms. Young was the Senior Department Associate, no one reported to or worked under the Plaintiff. (Young Dep. 24:16-18, Dkt. 79-1 at 8).

When reviewing her job description during her deposition, Ms. Young testified that while it was generally accurate, there were some activities that she did not carry out, including Harvest Land's compliance with the duty to warn, (Young Dep. 29:6-14, Dkt. 79-1 at 9), management of the degree-day program, (Young Dep. 29:20-23, Dkt. 79-1 at 9), the purchase office supplies, (Young Dep. 52:11-19, Dkt. 79-1 at 15), or the maintenance of branch files for customer and risk information. (Young Dep. 30:2-21, Dkt. 79-1 at 10). When discussing the Energy-Trac program, Ms. Young explained that her role was limited to importing tickets from the delivery truck drivers' computers into Harvest Land's computer data system. (Young Dep. 53:18-23, Dkt. 79-1 at 15).

In this role, Ms. Young reported to the Central Liquid Fuels and Lubes Manager, Charlie Sellers. Because Mr. Sellers was responsible for different offices and regions in the Harvest Land Co-Op, he was rarely in the same office with Ms. Young. (Young Dep. 24:19-25, Dkt. 79-1 at 8). Because of her years of experience, Ms. Young was given significant latitude at the office. Mr. Sellers permitted Ms. Young to order inventory for the plants, stations, and car lots as needed. (YoungDep. 25:6-26:14, Dkt. 79-1 at 9). According to the Plaintiff, everyone at Harvest Land worked together as a team. (Young Dep. 26:23-27:6, Dkt. 79-1 at 9). Ms. Young admitted that she spoke with Mr. Sellers every day to keep him abreast of happenings within the department. (Young Dep. 25:6-16, Dkt. 79-1 at 8). When something new arose that was out of her realm, the Plaintiff would contact Mr. Sellers for direction. (Young Dep. 27:1-14, Dkt. 79-1 at 9).

As Mr. Sellers' second in command, the Plaintiff handled almost all of the liquid fuels paperwork and anything else involving reporting that Mr. Sellers needed. (Young Dep. 25:2-26:8, Dkt. 79-1 at 8). Ms. Young also worked with Mr. Sellers to complete customer repairs and to schedule deliveries as needed. (Young Dep. 26:15-22, Dkt. 79-1 at 9). When a customer needed a repair, Ms. Young was responsible for scheduling one of Harvest Land's two service technicians to complete the repairs. (Young Aff. ¶ 19-20, Dkt. 75-1). Ms. Young's role in assisting Mr. Sellers with completing customer fuel contracts, however, was more limited. (Young Aff. ¶ 22-23, Dkt. 75-1). After receiving all the necessary pricing numbers from Mr. Sellers to plug into the customer fuel contract, the Plaintiff would simply fill in the blanks to complete the contract. (Young Aff. ¶ 24-25, Dkt. 75-1, Young Dep. 25:6-13, Dkt. 79-1 at 8).

In describing the relationship with her supervisor, the Plaintiff testified that Mr. Sellers did not "micromanage" her, and that because he trusted her, he gave her the authority to make independent decisions on behalf of the company. (Young Dep. 25:17-21, 27:1-6, Dkt. 79-1 at 8-9).

According to the Plaintiff, she began working overtime hours in approximately 2017, as a result of Harvest Land downsizing and consolidating offices in the area. (Young Dep. 45:16-25, Dkt. 79-1 at 13). Ms. Young assisted with the consolidation, and was required to travel approximately 3 times per week. (Young Dep. 45:22-46:24, Dkt. 79-1 at 13-14). In her deposition, the Plaintiff testified that in 2017 her overtime hours increased when she began traveling to Harvest Land's Monroe office, which required her to work 12 hours per day, in large part due to the 3.5 hours of driving to and from that office. (Young Dep. 45:16-46:4, Dkt. 79-1 at 13-14). Even though Plaintiff stated she had no supervisory or training responsibilities in her affidavit, she did admit in her deposition that she trained Harvest Land employees at the Monroe office in 2017. (Young Dep. 36:20-37:5, Dkt. 79-1 at 11).

Plaintiff was scheduled to work 8 hours per day Monday through Friday with a 60-minute unpaid lunch break. (Young Dep. 37:19-21, Dkt. 79-1 at 11). In her Complaint, the Plaintiff alleged that she regularly worked between 45 and 55 hours per week between 2017 and 2018. (Complaint 2, Dkt. 79-3 at 2). Even though she did not keep track of her hours, Ms. Young believed that she averaged approximately 50 hours of work per week. (Young Dep. 42:24-43:1, 45:6-16, Dkt. 79-1 at 13). Because Harvest Land opened at 8:00 a.m., Ms. Young explained that she typically arrived at work between 7:45 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., and although she "tried to leave at 5:00 p.m.," she generally...