Wolfe v Daley

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[*1] Wolfe v Daley 2013 NY Slip Op 52172(U) Decided on December 17, 2013 Just Ct Of Town Of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County Sears, J. Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on December 17, 2013
Just Ct of Town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County

Ryan Wolfe, Plaintiff,

against

Christopher Daley and DALEY'S LAWN AND LANDSCAPE, LLC, Defendant.



XX/13



VINCENT J. CATALANO, JR.

Attorney for Defendant

4 Liberty Street

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

RANDALL LAWRENCE, ESQ.

73 Old Deer Park

Katonah, NY 10536

David A. Sears, J.



This small claims action commenced by Plaintiff Ryan Wolfe seeks $558.00, together with costs, for back wages due from the Defendant, Christopher Daley and/or Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC. A small claims trial occurred on November 19, 2013.

Plaintiff testified he was hired by Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC in May, 2013. He was discharged from his position in July, 2013. Prior to accepting the position, Plaintiff testified that he was told he would be paid at the rate of $14.00/hour, however, when he was employed, he was paid at the rate of $12.00/hour. Approximately three weeks after he began employment, Plaintiff testified his pay rate was reduced to $11.00/hour. Plaintiff testified that there was no employee handbook provided to him by Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC.

Plaintiff's primary responsibilities were using a weed wacker at various lawn care jobs. The evidence introduced at trial indicates the Plaintiff was punching in and out on a computerized time clock at the shop of Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC, located at 131 Pine Hill Road in Pleasant Valley, NY. Testimony further reveals he was supervised by a foreman of Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC and that he wore a shirt or uniform that indicated that he worked for Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC.

Plaintiff testified that on or about the middle of May, 2013, he was asked to operate a lawnmower and while operating the lawnmower, he hit a guide wire. As a result, the lawnmower was broken. Plaintiff also contends that from mid May, 2013 through his termination, his paycheck was "shorted" varying amounts. He did not receive his last paycheck and was told by [*2]the Defendant that it was withheld because the Plaintiff had to pay for the repair of the broken lawnmower. None of the checks paid to Plaintiff Ryan Wolfe were from an account of Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC, but rather they were from an account for Daley's Garden Center and Bulk Supply, Inc. He never received a check stub and no withholdings were taken from his paycheck, nor were any employment taxes paid by the Defendant. He claims his last paycheck that was withheld was for a total of $440.00. The Plaintiff indicates that this amount was an estimate and that he had no records to support such an estimate.

Defendant Christopher Daley testified that Plaintiff Ryan Wolfe was hired by Daley Garden Center and Bulk Supply, Inc. as an independent contractor. Defendant Daley indicated that Plaintiff Wolfe was required to punch in and out on time card records, maintained by the Defendant (admitted in evidence as "Employee Time Card"). The time records were keyed into a computer controlled by the Defendant, Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC. Defendant admits that the check issued to the Plaintiff for May 24, 2013 was short $46.33 as a result of a computer error. Defendant also admits that the last paycheck in the amount of $353.65 was withheld because the Plaintiff broke a lawnmower. Defendant indicates that the lawnmower was repaired by Adams Power Equipment. The receipt for the repair notes the repair work was done for Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC located at 131 Pine Hill Road, Pleasant Valley, NY. The repair work was undertaken in August, 2013, after the termination of Plaintiff Wolfe.

Defendant Christopher Daley contends that Plaintiff did not work for Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC, but rather Daley's Garden Center and Bulk Supply, Inc. as an independent contractor. There were no written agreement indicating the Plaintiff was an independent contractor. Defendant Daley testified that Daley's Lawn and Landscape has employees and that the Plaintiff was given one or two Daley Lawn and Landscape, LLC shirts to wear on the job. Defendant Daley also testified that Daley Lawn and Landscape, LLC employed a foreman at job sites and the foreman was the person responsible to direct the work of the "employees", including Ryan Wolfe. Defendant Daley indicated Daley's Lawn and Landscaping, LLC had been in existence for a period of approximately ten years.

As the Court of Appeals has noted an "independent contractor is one who agrees to do a specific piece of work for another for a lump sum or its equivalent who has control of himself and his helpers, as to when, within a reasonable time, he shall begin and finish the work, as to the method, means or procedure of accomplishing it, and who is not subject to discharge because he does the work as to method and detail in one way rather than another. In the relation of employer and employee the employer has control and direction not only of the work as to its result, but as to the details and method of doing the work, and may discharge the employee for disobeying such control and direction." Beach v. Velzy, 238 NY 100 (1924).

Based on the testimony of both the Plaintiff and Defendant, it is clear that the Plaintiff, Ryan Wolfe, was an employee of Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC. Although checks issued to Plaintiff Wolfe came from Daley's Garden Center and Bulk Supply, Inc., the Plaintiff wore a Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC shirt, utilized equipment owned by Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC and was directed at the job site by a foreman employed by Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC. Furthermore, the Defendant himself at one point testified that Ryan Wolfe was an "employee" of Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC.

There simply was no evidence to indicate that Ryan Wolfe was an employee of Daley's [*3]Garden Center and Bulk Supply, Inc. Even though paychecks came from a related company, that alone is not a dispositive fact in an effort to determine Plaintiff's true employer. However, it is equally clear that Plaintiff did not work for Christopher Daley individually and further, there is no credible evidence to indicate that Plaintiff Ryan Wolfe was an independent contractor.

New York State Labor Law §193 prohibits employers from making any deductions of wages from an employee, except those that are expressly authorized in writing by the employee. To prevail, the Plaintiff must demonstrate he is an employee entitled to protection under the statute. See, Lauria v. Heffernan, 607 F. Supp. 403 (E.D. N.Y, 2009). The Plaintiff herein clearly satisfied a factual finding that he was an employee entitled to the protection of §193 of the Labor Law. Since no written agreement existed, Defendant Daley Lawn and Landscape, LLC's efforts to withhold money from the Plaintiff for damages to equipment owned by Daley's Lawn and Landscape, LLC are prohibited under New York Law. Accordingly, that the last paycheck in the amount of $353.65 was wrongfully withheld. .

Plaintiff's claim for various pay "shortages" however was not supported by the evidence, except to the extent that all parties agreed that by human or computer error, Plaintiff Ryan Wolfe was inadvertently shorted the amount of $46.53 for the pay period ending May 24, 2013.

Based on the testimony and the evidence presented at the trial, the Plaintiff is awarded a Judgment in the amount of $400.18 against Defendant Daley Lawn and Landscape, LLC. Claims against Christopher Daley individually are dismissed.

This shall constitute the Decision and Order of this Court.

Dated:December 17, 2013

________________________________

HON. DAVID A. SEARS, Town Justice

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