Brunozzi v. Cable Communications, Inc., No. 15-35623 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs Matteo Brunozzi and Casey McCormick, technicians for CCI, filed separate suits alleging that CCI's compensation plan violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 207, and Oregon's statutory requirement that an employer pay all wages earned and unpaid after terminating an employee, ORS 652.140. Brunozzi also alleged additional claims under Oregon law. The district court granted summary judgment for CCI. The court held that CCI's pay plan violated the FLSA's overtime provisions. In this case, the diminishing "bonus" device in CCI's pay plan caused it to miscalculate the technicians' regular hourly rate during weeks when they work overtime and allowed CCI to pay the technicians less during those weeks. Consequently, the court reversed as to this issue and also reversed as to plaintiffs' claim under ORS 652.140. Having examined the text, context, and pertinent legislative history, the court found that the Oregon legislature intended the term "reported" in ORS 659A.199 to mean a report of information to either an external or internal authority. In this case, Brunozzi complained to his supervisors on several occasions that he was not being properly compensated for overtime. Therefore, the court reversed as to Brunozzi's retaliation claim under ORS 659A.199. The court also reversed as to Brunozzi's retaliation claim under ORS 652.355 where the act of complaining about inadequate wages was a protected activity.
Court Description: Labor Law. The panel reversed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the defendant in an action brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Oregon state law by plaintiffs who worked as technicians, installing cable television and internet services. The panel held that the defendant’s piece-work-based pay plan, which included a bonus designed to decrease in proportion to an increase in the number of overtime hours worked, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions. The panel reversed the district court’s summary judgment on the technicians’ claims under Or. Rev. Stat. § 652.140(1), which requires employers to pay all wages earned and unpaid BRUNOZZI V. CABLE COMMUNICATIONS 3 by the end of the first business day after a discharge or termination. The panel also reversed the district court’s summary judgment on one technician’s retaliation claims under Or. Rev. Stat. § 659A.199, which prohibits a private employer from retaliating against an employee who has in good faith reported information that the employee believes is a violation of law, and Or. Rev. State. § 652.355, which prohibits an employer from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee who has discussed, made, or consulted an attorney about a wage claim. The technician verbally complained to his immediate supervisors that he was not being property compensated for overtime, and he refused to work any additional overtime hours unless he was paid an overtime rate. The panel held that the term “reported” in § 659A.199 means a report of information to either an external or internal authority. The panel held that the act of complaining about inadequate wages is a protected activity under § 652.355. The panel remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.