Devaney v. Zucchini Gold, LLC

Devaney v. Zucchini Gold, LLC

Opinion

 [**1252]  Wendlandt, J. This case presents the question whether the comprehensive remedial scheme provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq., for recovery of damages when an employer violates the Federal overtime law, 29 U.S.C. § 207, precludes an employee from alternatively pursuing remedies under the wage act, G. L. c. 149, § 148, for the untimely payment of overtime wages due solely pursuant to the FLSA. Because awarding such State law [***2]  remedies would actually conflict with the Federal remedies provided in the FLSA, and because we must construe our State laws to avoid preemption if possible, we conclude that such State law remedies are not available in these circumstances. Further concluding that the jury instructions for the calculation of overtime wages under the FLSA contained a methodological error resulting in an award to the plaintiff employees of two and one-half times their regular rate and that the defendants' remaining claims lack merit, we remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.⁴

1. Background. We recite the facts in the light most favorable to the jury verdict. See O'Brien v. Pearson, 449 Mass. 377, 383, 868 N.E.2d 118 (2007). The plaintiffs, Rutchada Devaney, Thewakul Rueangjan, and Thanyathon Wungnak, were employees of a Needham-based restaurant called the Rice Barn, which was owned and operated by the defendant Zucchini Gold, LLC, which in turn was owned by the defendant Chalermpol Intha (collectively, Rice Barn). The restaurant was open seven days each week, including for lunch and dinner on weekdays and for dinner on weekends.

 [*516]   [**1253]  Rice Barn failed to keep complete, contemporaneous records of the plaintiffs' hours of work or of wages paid.⁵ Nevertheless, [***3]  the parties agree that the plaintiffs routinely worked more than forty hours per week.⁶ Devaney's work responsibilities generally included packing and preparing food, as well as coordinating orders with customers and the kitchen. She typically worked six or seven days per week, for a total of fifty to sixty hours per week.⁷ Rueangjan worked as a chef, preparing and cooking hot meals. He also was responsible for cleaning his work station. Between lunch and dinner, Rueangjan worked on food preparation and took a ten minute break. He worked seven days per week, for approximately sixty-four to 70.5 hours per week on average. Wungnak's primary responsibility was making appetizers. On days when she worked on catering projects, Wungnak arrived at around 6 a.m. She worked seven days per week, rarely taking breaks during her shifts, for a weekly total of between sixty-four and 72.25 hours worked.

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