Gerald E. Archer, et al. v. Rockingham County

Plaintiffs are twelve former and current emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who work in Rockingham County, North Carolina. Sometime in the mid-1980s, the County began paying the full-time EMTs according to the "fluctuating workweek pay plan." This pay schedule is a recognized method of compensation under the federal Fair Labor and Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) and is codified in 29 C.F.R. § 778.114 (2000). This compensation scheme assists employers in calculating an employee's regular and overtime pay rates and operates in situations where an employee works a different number of hours from week to week. The fluctuatingworkweek pay plan provided the Rockingham County EMTs with a base salary for the first forty hours they worked each week. When necessary, overtime hours (those in excess of forty hours) were compensated at a rate of at least one-half the base salary amount. Shortly after implementation of the fluctuating workweek pay plan, Rockingham County Personnel Officer Ben Neal held meetings with the EMTs to explain the payment schedule to them and answer their questions. The Rockingham County Manager, Jerry Myers, also met with the employees to go over the pay plan. The EMTs were paid every two weeks, and the pay stubs and deposit slips reflected a base salary, plus any amount due for overtime hours worked.

Plaintiffs filed a complaint on 18 December 1998, alleging that they were entitled to be paid a base salary and overtime pay at the rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. They also alleged they were given compensatory time in lieu of overtime pay, but that the compensatory time was underpaid (less than one and one-half times their base salary). Plaintiffs also stated that defendant deprived them of an opportunity to choose between receiving overtime pay or compensatory time. Plaintiffs alleged damages in excess of $10,000.00; that figure was calculated based on the alleged underpayments, plaintiffs' request for liquidated damages under 29 U.S.C. § 216, attorney's fees, and costs.

The parties engaged in prolonged discovery for several months. Plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment on 8 September 1999, and defendant filed its own motion for summary judgment on 1 March2000. Defendant also filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim on 15 February 2000. In an order entered 4 April 2000, the trial court denied the cross-motions for summary judgment and also denied defendant's motion to dismiss. Defendant appealed.

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We therefore conclude that Rockingham County is generally entitled to the defense of sovereign immunity because it is a constituent part of the state. We further hold that the County waived the protection of sovereign immunity by entering into an employment contract with plaintiffs, such that plaintiffs have presented a proper cause of action. The trial court's dismissal of the cross motions for summary judgment and dismissal of defendant's motion to dismiss are
Affirmed.

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Reported by Kent Morlan