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Home » Sovereign Immunity » D.R.I.: Since Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act Does Not Create Private Cause Of Action, Rhode Island Has Not Waived Its Sovereign Immunity From FLSA Claims

D.R.I.: Since Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act Does Not Create Private Cause Of Action, Rhode Island Has Not Waived Its Sovereign Immunity From FLSA Claims

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"Dual Assignment" Rule "Good Faith" Defense $7.25 $35 Million Verdict $455 $500 $913 000.00 1 Week Delay 2 Or More Employees 2 Or More Employees Handling 2 Year Statute of Limitations 2d Circuit 3 Year Statute of Limitations 4 Year Degree 4-Month Period 4th Circuit 5th Circuit 6 Month Statute of Limitations 6th Circuit 7(i) 7th Circuit 8th Circuit 9 U.S .C. §§ 3 9th Circuit 10th Circuit 11 U.S.C. § 521(1) 11th Amendment 11th Circuit 13th Amendment 20 Pound Bag 20% Rule 21 Club 28 U .S.C. § 1332(d) 28 U.S.C. § 1407 28-day Work Period 29 C.F.R. 541.601 29 C.F.R. 541.605(a) 29 C.F.R. § 516.27(A) 29 C.F.R. § 516.27(B) 29 C.F.R. § 531.35 29 C.F.R. § 531.52 29 C.F.R. § 531.55 29 C.F.R. § 531.56(e) 29 C.F.R. § 541.100 29 C.F.R. § 541.105 29 C.F.R. § 541.200 29 C.F.R. § 541.200(a) 29 C.F.R. § 541.202(a) 29 C.F.R. § 541.202(b) 29 C.F.R. § 541.202(e) 29 C.F.R. § 541.300(a)(1) 29 C.F.R. § 541.301 29 C.F.R. § 541.301(a) 29 C.F.R. § 541.302(a) 29 C.F.R. § 541.313 29 C.F.R. § 541.500 29 C.F.R. § 541.502 29 C.F.R. § 541.600 29 C.F.R. §541.602(a) 29 C.F.R. § 541.604 29 C.F.R. § 552.106 29 C.F.R. § 553.101 29 C.F.R. § 553.213 29 C.F.R. § 778.108 29 C.F.R. § 778.112 29 C.F.R. § 778.114 29 C.F.R. §778.114 29 C.F.R. § 778.115 29 C.F.R. § 778.217(b) 29 C.F.R. § 778.219(a) 29 C.F.R. § 778.501(a) 29 C.F.R. § 779.315 29 C.F.R. § 779.316 29 C.F.R. § 779.317 29 C.F.R. § 779.412 29 C.F.R. § 779.416(b) 29 C.F.R. § 780.129 29 C.F.R. § 782.2 29 C.F.R. § 782.5(a) 29 C.F.R. § 785.23 29 C.F.R. § 785.48(b) 29 C.F.R § 785.18 29 CFR Part 552 29 U.S.C. 207(h) 29 U.S.C. 215 29 U.S.C.A. § 203(y) 29 U.S.C. § 203(m) 29 U.S.C. § 203(o) 29 U.S.C. § 203(r)(1) 29 U.S.C. § 203(r)(2)(A) 29 U.S.C. § 203(s) 29 U.S.C. § 207(e)(1)-(8) 29 U.S.C. § 207(e)(2) 29 U.S.C. § 207(e)(5)-(7) 29 U.S.C. § 207(h)(2) 29 U.S.C. § 207(i) 29 U.S.C. § 207(k) 29 U.S.C. § 207(p)(1) 29 U.S.C. § 209(m) 29 U.S.C. § 213(10)(a) 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1) 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(15) 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(17) 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1) 29 U.S.C. § 215 29 U.S.C. § 215(a) 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3) 29 U. S. C. §215(a)(3). 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) 29 U.S.C. § 218(a) 29 U.S.C. § 255(a) 29 U.S.C. § 256(b) 29 U.S.C. § 259 29 U.S.C. § 260 30-Minute Deductions 34(a)(2) 168 Hours 207(h) 215(a)(3) 216(b) 541.601 778.112 778.115 785.23 1099 2010 FLSA Amendments 2010-1 10000 Pound Vehicles A & P Mechanic AAA AA Meeting Abbot Laboratories Abbott Absent Arbitration Clause Absent Class Members Abuse of Discretion Acceptance of Offer of Judgment Accountant Accountant Advice Accountant Liability for FLSA Violations Accountant Malpractice Act 72 Actual Duties Actual Knowledge Actual Weight ADA Addresses ADEA Adequacy of Representation Administrative Exemption Administratively Exempt Administrative Procedure Act Administrative Proceeding Administrator's Interpretation Administrator's Interpretation No. 2010-2 Adminstrative/Production Dichotomy Adminstrative Exemption Adminstrative Remedy Admissibility Adult Entertainers Advanced Knowledge Advertising Sales Advice of Counsel Affidavit Affirmative Defense Affirmative Defenses Affirmative Steps After-Hours Agreement Agreement to Arbitratrate Agricultural Employees Agricultural Exemption Air Carrier Air Carrier Exemption Airline Carrier Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 Airport Shuttle Al Capone Alpharma Amended Answer Amended Complaint American Arbitration Association American Eagle Drivers American Samoa Amicus Amicus Brief Amount of Discovery Anonymous Plaintiff Anti-Retaliation APA Applebee's Apprenticeship Approval Not Required Approval of Settlement Arbitral Decision Arbitration Arbitration Agreement Arbitration Agreements Arbitration Clause Arbitration Costs Arbitration in FLSA Cases Arbitration Invalidated Arbitrator Arbitrator's Jurisdiction Arbitrator Decide Class Arindrajit Dube Arise Misclassification Claims Arise Overtime Claims Arise Virtual Solutions Arise Wage Theft Arm of the State Assistant Manager Assistant Store Managers AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion At-Issue Waiver Attorney's Fees Attorney-Client Communications Attorney-Client Privilege Attorney Advice Attorney Defendant Attorney Liability Attorney Liability for FLSA Violations Attorney Representation Auto Body Repairman Auto Dealer Exemption Automatic Deductions Automobile Dealer Auto Parts Store Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Average Hourly Compensation Average Hourly Wage Averaging Award of Costs Bachelor Degree Backwages Balance of Convenience Factors Balancing Test Ballot Measure 25 Bamonte v. City of Mesa Bank of America Bankrupcy Stay Bankruptcy Baristas Bartenders Base Hourly Rate Benefits Biggs v. Wilson Billing Records Billingsley v. 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Circuit D.Ct. D.R. Horton D.R. Horton and Michael Cuda Damages Dancers Showclub Dates of Employment Davis Bacon Act Day Rates DBA DCLMA DCWPCL December 1 Decertification Declarations Declaratory Judgment Declaratory Relief Default Defendant's Billing Records Defense Counsel Billing Records Defense Verdict Deference Owed to Secretary of Labor Definition of CMV Definition of Employee Definition of Full Relief Definition of Independent Contractor Delay Dellinger De Minimis Denial of Conditional Certification Department of Labor Department of Transportation Deposition Location Depositions Design Consultant Destruction of Records Differences Among Putative Class Members Dionne Dionne v. Floormasters Direct Care Job Quality Improvement Act Directly Related To Management Disabled Workers Discounts Discoverability of Attorney Communications Discoverability of Billing Records Discovery Discovery Of Immigration Status Discovery Plaintiffs Discretion and Independent Judgment Discretion or Judgment When Loading Discretion to Limit Discovery Dismissal of Opt-ins Dissemination of Notice District of Colorado Docking DOL DOL Audit DOL Enforcement Dolgencorp Dollar General Dollar Tree DOL Supervised Settlement Domestic Service Domestic Service Exemption Donning and Doffing Door-to-Door Salespeople DOT DOT Audit DOT Jurisdiction Draw Driver Driver's Helper Drivers Dual-Trained Paramedics Dual Jobs Duplicative Claims Dupont Duress Duties Duty to Mitigate E.D.Tex. Economic Realities Test Economic Reality Economists EDS EDS Overtime Class Action EDS Technical Support Effect of Denial of Conditional Certification Efficient Judicial Administration Eighth Circuit Electronic Data Systems Elements of Claim Eleventh Amendment Immunity Eleventh Circuit Eli Lilly Ellerth Email Emotional Distress Employee Employee Leasing Employee Release Agreement Employees Employees of Subcontractors Employee Status Employee Theft Employee vs Independent Contractor Employee vs Volunteer Employee waiting for work Employer Employer's Burden of Proof Employer Participation in Tip Pool Employers' Attorney Employment Employment Relationship Enforceability Enforceability of Class/Collective Waivers Enforcement Engaged in Commerce Engaged in Fire Protection Engineer Enjoin Enterprise Enterprise Coverage Enterprise Rent-A-Car Entry of Judgment EPA Equal Pay Act Equitable Defenses Equitable Tolling ERISA Evidence Exception Exceptional Circumstances Exception vs Exemption Excluding Sleep Time Exclusive Remedy Executive Exemption Exempt Employees Exemptions Exempt Status Exempt Time Exhaustion of Administrative Remedy Exotic Dancers Expeditor Experts Expert Testimony Extended Notice Period Extern Externships Extraordinary Circumstances FAA Facebook Facially Neutral Fact Witnesses Failure To Disclose Claims In Bankruptcy Failure to Hire Failure to Pay in Timely Fashion Failure to Pay On Time Failure to Post FLSA Notice Failure to Take Reasonable Actions Fair Labor Standard Act Fair Labor Standards Act Fair Labor Standards Action Fair Labor Stardards Act Fairness Fair Playing Field Act of 2010 False Imprisonment Family Dollar Family Medical Leave Act Faragher Farmer Farmers Insurance Farming Farming Operations Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act FCRA Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(a) Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3) Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1) Fed.R.Civ.P. 34 Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) Fed.R.Civ. P. 43 Fed.R.Civ.P. 68 Federal Arbitration Act Federal Aviation Act Federal Court Federal Register Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) FedEx Fee Basis Fee Shifting Fee Splitting Field Coordinator Field Managers Field of Science or Learning Fifth Circuit Final Regulations Final Rule Final Rule Domestic Service FINRA FINRA Rule 13204 Firefighters Fire Suppression and Prevention First-Filed First-Filed Rule First Circuit Five Hundred Thousand Dollars Fixed Amount as Straight Time Pay Fixed Salary Flex Time Flight Attendants Florida Constitution Florida Minimum Wage Florida Unpaid Wages Florida Wage Law FLSA FLSA-Protected Activity FLSA Collective Action Waiver FLSA Coverage FLSA Employee FLSA employee misclassification FLSA Employer FLSA Exemptions FLSA Minimum Wage FLSA Overtime FLSA overtime claim FLSA Preemption FLSA Protections FLSA recordkeeping requirements FLSA Retaliation FLSA Settlement Approval FLSA Settlements FLSA Standing FLSA time-shaving FLSA Workweek FLSA Work Week Fluctuating Workweek Fluctuating Work Week FMLA Food in Lieu of Wages Food Service Foot Locker Forced Arbitration Foreign-flagged Ships Foreign Country Foreign Work Exemption Form of Consent to Join Form of Notice Form WH-58 Fourth Circuit Four Year Degree Franchisee franchise workers Franchisor FRCP 8 FRCP 9(b) FRCP 10(a) FRCP 15(b) FRCP 23 FRCP 26(c) FRCP 41(a) FRCP 68 FRE 702 Full Damages Full Relief Function Test FWW GAO Study Gap Time Garment Workers Garnishment Gas Gawker General Household Work General Manager General Release Genesis Genesis Healthcare Corp. 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Rite Aid Corp. Knowing Waiver KPMG Kuebel v. Black & Decker Inc. L.L.C. labor Labor Budgeting Policies Labor Management Relations Act Lacking Retail Concept LA County Lactation Breaks Last Paycheck Late Opt-ins Late Paycheck Late Payment law Law Degree Law School Graduate Learned Professional Learned Professional Exemption Leave to Amend Legal Malpractice Legal Status of Opt-in Plaintiffs Legitimate Business Purpose Liberal Construction Licenced and Practicing in the Field of Medical Science Lie Detector Life Insurance Agent Life Insurance Brokers Likelihood of Interstate Trips LinkedIn Liquidated Damages Living Wage LLC LMRA Loader Loading and Unloading Tools Loan Location of Depositions Lodging Longevity Pay Los Angeles Louisville Firefighters Low-Wage Workers Lowe's LPN Lunch Lynn's Food Lynn's Foods M.D.Fla. Maintenance Director Majority of Work Time Making Sales Malpractice as Basis of FLSA Liability Management Management Employee Management of Collective Action Managers Mandatory Arbitration Mandatory Attorneys Fees Mandatory Service Charge Maritime Marketing Martin v. Spring Break '83 Productions Maryland Wage and Hour Law Massachusetts Massachusetts Tips Law Massachusetts Trial Court Materials Matters of Significance Maître D' MCA MCA Exemption McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act Meal Breaks Meals Measurement of FLSA Compliance Measuring Damages Measuring Minimum Wage Mechanic Merits Not Considered Merryday Miami-Dade Wage Theft Ordinance Miami Overtime Law Michael Mahoney Middle District of Tennessee Miller Act Minimum Wage Minimum Wage Law Minimum Wages Minimum Wage Violation Minimum Wage Violations Minimum Wage Workers Minor v. Bostwick Laboratories Mirror-Image Counterclaims Misclassification Misleading Misleading Communications Missel Mitigation Mixed Fleet MLO MLOs Money Damages Moot Mootness Morgan & Morgan Mortgage Brokers Mortgage Loan Officers Mortgage Underwriters Motion for an Order Approving Distribution of a Memorandum to Opt-ins Motion for Approval Motion for Attorneys Fees Motion for Conditional Certification Motion for Decertification Motion for More Definite Statement Motion for Separate Trials Motion for Stay Motion in Limine Motion to Allow Late Opt-ins Motion to Compel Motion to Compel Arbitration Motion to Compel Entry Into Facility Motion to Dismiss Motion to Open and Close Evidence Motion to Proceed Anonymously Motion to Strike Motion to Toll Statute of Limitations Motor Carrier Motor Carrier Act Motor Carrier Act Exemption Motor Carrier Exemption Multidistrict Litigation Multidistrict Panel Municipal Contracts Municipal Employee Mutual Aid or Protection MWA MWHL N.D.Cal. N.J.S.A. § 34:11-4.1 Named-Plaintiff Names Nanny Narcotics Detection Dog National Employment Law Project National Labor Policy Necessity of Court Approval NELA NELP Nevada Nevada State Wage and Hour Claims Nevada Wage and Hour Law New Jersey New Jersey Labor Department New Jersey Wage and Hour Law New Jersey Wage Law New Regulations New Rule news New Salary Rules Newspaper New York New York City New York EDS Overtime Case New York Labor Law New York Times New York wage claims Nine- and Ten- Person Passenger Vans Ninth Circuit NJ Labor Department NJWHL NJWL NLRA NLRA Section 7 NLRB No Advanced Degree Non-Compensable Non-Disparagement Non-Enforcement Non-Exempt Non-Exempt Case Managers Non-Exempt Employees Non-FLSA Claims Non-Jurisdictional Non-Overtime Bonuses Non-Payment Non-Profit Non-Reemployment Non-Reemployment Clause Non-Tipped Employees Non-Waiver Noncompensable Nonexempt Nonproductive Time Norma Jean’s Nite Club Notice Notice Language Notice Motion Notice of Intent to Proceed as Collective Action Notice of Pendency Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Notice of Tip Credit Notice Package Notice Period Notice Requirement Notice Via Social Media Notice Warning Novartis NPRM Number of Employees Nurse Case Managers Nurse Case Managers Overtime Pay Nursery Nursing Mothers NYLL NYLL. Arming Up NYLL § 196-d NY Times Obama Objective Objective Good Faith Obtaining Releases from Class Members Off-Duty Care and Training Off-the-Clock Off Duty Hours Offer of Judgment Offer of Judgment Cannot Moot FLSA Case Offer of Settlement Offer of Settlement Absent Right to Enter Judgment Office or Non-Manual Work Official Capacity Offset Offsets Off The Clock Work OGC Inspectors OJ On-call Time On a Farm Onyx Opening and Closing Opt-in Opt-in Consent Opt-in Depositions Opt-in Notice Opt-in Period Opt-in Plaintiff Opt-in Plaintiff Status in FLSA Case Opt-ins Opt-out Class Action Oral Complaint Order of Proof Oregon Oregon Minimum Wage Oregon Tort Claims Act Original Jurisdiction OTCA Other Facilities Out-of-State Out-of-State Communications Outside Sales Outside Sales Exemption Overbroad Overnight Motor Overnight Motor Transportation Co. v. 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Family Centered Services of Alaska Product Design Specialist Production Production Employees Products Professional Employer Organization Professional Exemption Professional Liability Prohibitions on Communications Prolonged Course Of Specialized Intellectual Instruction And Study Promotion Promotions Proposed Regulations Proposed Rule Proposed Rulemaking Pro Se Plaintiff Protected Activity Protective Gear Protective Order Prudential Overtime Class Action Pseudonym PSR PSRs PT Public Agency Public Highways Public Policy Public Safety Exemption Punitive Damages Putative Class Putative Class Members Putative Collective Action Putative Collective Action Member Quality Staffing Services Corporation Questionnaire R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-1 et seq. Railway Labor Act Railway Labor Act Exemption Raises Raniere v. Citigroup Inc. Raw Agricultural Goods RCW RCW 49.46.130(1) Re-opening Discovery Real Estate Broker Reasonable Attorney's Fees Reasonabless Recommendations Recommended Tip Reconsideration Record-Keeping Violations Recording Overtime Recording Time Recordkeeping Recordkeeping Burden Recordkeeping Rule Recreational Marijuana Recruiters Recruitment Expenses Recusal Registered Nurse Regular Pay Period Regular Rate Regular Workweek Regulations Reimbursement Relation Back Release Releases Invalidated Relevance Remand Remedial Purpose Repayment Reporters Representative Discovery Representative Plaintiffs Required Res Judicata Restaurants Restaurant Workers Restrictions on Class Communications Restrictions on Communications With Putative Class Members Retail and Service Establishment Retail Business Retail Concept Retail Establishment Retail Exemption Retail or Service Exemption Retaliation Retroactive Applicability Return of Tips RFID Study Rhode Island Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act RLA RLA Exemption RN Roberto Donna Room and Board Rounding Rounding Claims Rounding Down Rounding Policy Rule 8 Rule 12(b)(6) Rule 19 Rule 23 Rule 26 Rule 37 Rule 41 Rule 41(a) Rule 68 Rulemaking Rulemaking Authority Ryskamp S-Corporation S.D.N.Y. SAFETEA-LU Sahyers Salaried Employees Salaried Misclassified Salary Salary Basis Salary Misclassification Salary Threshold Sales Salesman Sales Representative Sanctions Santos v. Lidl Saving Clause Savings Clause SCA Scheme To Avoid Paying Overtime Schering School Bus Drivers Scope of Discovery Scott v. City of New York SCOTUS Seaman's Wage Act Seaman Exemption Secondary Agricultural Exemption Second Circuit Second Filed Action Secretary of Labor Secretary of Labor's Interpretation Secretary of Transportation Secretary Perez Section 7 Section 7 Rights Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act Section 207(e)(2) Section 301 Securitas Security Guards Security Screening Security Screenings Self-Critical Analysis Privilege Self-Evaluation Privilege Separate And Independent Employer Service Changes Service Contract Act Set-off Settlement Settlement Agreement Settlement Approval Settlements Settlement With Co-Defendants Seventh Circuit Severability Clause Severance Severance Agreement Severance Payment Shift Differentials Shortened Statute of Limitations Sick Leave Sick Leave Buy-Back Silence as to Class Waiver Silence in Arbitration Agreement Silence in Collective Bargaining Silent Similarly Situated Simultaneous Employment Simultaneous Owner Employee Singular Workweek Sixth Circuit Skidmore Skycaps Slavery Sleep Time SmithKline Beecham Social Media Social Security Numbers Social Workers SOL Soleley At The Firefighter's Own Option Soliciting Orders Solis v. Tyson Solis v. Washington South Carolina Sovereign Immunity Special Detail Exemption Special Investigators Spoliation Sprint Staffing Agencies Staffing Agency Staff Leasing Company Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage I Stage II Standard on Motion for Decertification Standing Standing of Named Plaintiffs Starbucks State's Rights State Court State Employees State Law State Law Claims State Law Wage and Hour Class State Minimum Wage Laws State Rights Status of Opt-in Plaintiffs Statute of Limitations Statutory Notice Step Outside Normal Job Role Stipulation of Dismissal Stipulations Stock Broker Overtime Class Action Stolen Tips Stolt-Nielsen Stolt–Nielsen Store Manager Store Managers Straight Time Straight Time Overtime Stress Strippers Student-Workers Students Subclaims Subclass Subclasses Subcontractors Subjective Belief Subjective Good Faith Subject Matter Jurisdiction Substantive Right Substantive Statutory Rights Successor in Interest Successor Liability Suffer or Permit Summary Judgment Summary Judgment as to Individual Plaintiffs SuperShuttle Supervise Supplemental Jurisdiction Supplemental Notice Supreme Court Sutherland Sutter Sutter v. Oxford Health Plans LLC Syllabus Symczyk Symczyk v. Genesis HealthCare Corp. T. William Lester Taxicab Exemption Tax Services TCA Technical Corrections Act Teed v. Thomas & Betts Power Solutions Temporary Nonagricultural Workers Temporary Restraining Order Tender Tenth Circuit Test for Joint Employer Test for Successor Liability Under FLSA Thesholds Third-Party Beneficiary Third-Party Payroll Vendor Third-Party Plaintiff Third Circuit Thomas Three-Year Statute of Limitations Threshold Through Ticketing Time and a Half Time and Motion Study Timekeeping Time Records Timothy P. Glynn Tip Tip Credit Tip Credit Damages Tip Damages Tipped Employee Tipped Employees Tipped Minimum Wage Tip Pool Tip Pooling Tip Pool Participants Tip Retention Tips Title II of the Railway Labor Act Tolling Tolling of Statute of Limitations Tolling Statute of Limitations Tom Harkin Total Annual Compensation Tow Truck Trailer Training Costs Training Time Trash Collectors Travel Expenses Travel Time Trial Testimony TRO Truck Driver Truck Drivers Trump Trump DOL Tumbler Twenty-Eight Day Work Period Twenty Minutes Twitter Two Employees Twombly Tyson Foods U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Territories UCLA Study Ultra Filtrated Milk Ultra Filtration Unaccepted Offer of Judgment Unauthorized Aliens Unclean Hands Unconscionability Unconscionable Under Seal Undocumented Undocumented Aliens Undocumented Immigrants Undocumented Workers Unenforceable Union Union Wages Unjust Enrichment Unpaid Breaks Unpaid Exterships Unpaid Gratuities Unpaid Internships Unpaid Overtime Unpaid Wages Unpaid Wagse Unpaid waiting time Unreachable Class Members Unrealized Revenues Unrepresented Untimely Unwaivable Updated Regulations Updating Regulations Urnikis-Negro Uronis v. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. Used Cars USSC Vacation Buy-Back Variable Pay Varying Straight Time Pay Vehicle Expense Reimbursements Vehicle Expenses Venue Veracity Research Verbal Complaints Videoconference Testimony Videoconferencing Violators Virginia Visa Visa Expenses Voiding Collective Action Waivers Voluntary Settlement Volunteer Volunteer Firefighter W.D.Va. W2 Wachovia Overtime Class Action Wage Abuses Wage and Hour Wage and Hour Class Action Wage and Hour Division Wage and Hour Law Wage and Hour Laws Wage and Hour Lawsuit Wage and Hour Opinion Letters Wage Discrimination Wage Growth Wage Rates Wages Wage Theft Waiting Time Waiver Waiver Absent Arbitration Waiver of Affirmative Defenses Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege Waiver of Privilege Wal-Mart Wal-Mart ASM's Wal-Mart Overtime Lawsuit Wal-Mart Settlement Wal-mart Stores Wal-Mart Wage and Hour Violations Walden v. State of Nevada Walk Time Walmart Walmart Suppliers Washington Minimum Wage WH-58 Receipt Form WHD White Collar Exemptions Wildland Firefighting Willfulness Wis. Stat. §§ 109.03 Woody Woo Work Work-Study Program Worker Misclassification Workers' Health Work Hours Working Hours Working Papers Work Materials Work Time Workweek Work Week WPCA Wrecking Services Written Notice Wynn Las Vegas Yard Hostler Zheng v. Liberty Apparel Co. Zinni § 203(o) § 203(r)(2)(C) § 207(a)(1) § 207(i) § 207(k) § 215 § 216 § 216(b) § 255(a) § 541.304 § 778.105 § 778.114 § 779.317

Hauser v. State of Rhode Island Dept. of Correction

This case arose from an allegation that the State of Rhode Island Department of Corrections (DOC) fails to adequately compensate five officers who care for police dogs. The State moved to dismiss Plaintiffs’ two claims: violation of the Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-1 et seq.; and violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. The Court concluded that no private right of action exists under the Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act, and that the State has not waived its sovereign immunity as to the FLSA claim.

The Court first determined that the Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act does not provide for a private right of action, “[w]hile the Minimum Wage Act is silent as to whether an individual private right of action exists, it does speak to enforcement. Section 28-12-13 provides: “Responsibility for enforcement-[t]he provisions of this chapter shall be carried out by the division of labor standards”; and § 28-12-14(7) provides: ‘Enforcement powers-[t]he director or the commissioner or any authorized representative of either shall have the authority to: [b]ring all actions, suits, complaints, and prosecutions for the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.

These provisions, combined with the lack of an express private right to sue, indicate that the General Assembly did not intend to provide an individual right of action to aggrieved employees. See Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis, 444 U.S. 11, 19 (1979) (“[I]t is an elemental canon of statutory construction that where a statute expressly provides a particular remedy or remedies, a court must be chary of reading others into it.”); In re John, 605 A.2d 486, 488 (R.I.1992) (noting that when a statute “does not plainly provide for a private cause of action, such a right cannot be inferred”); Narragansett Pellet Corp. v. City of East Providence ex rel. Fitzgerald, C.A. No. 06-464 ML, 2007 WL 2821538, at *6-7 (D.R.I. Sept. 25, 2007) (no private right of action where statute prescribed a particular enforcement process). There can be little doubt that had the General Assembly deemed it appropriate or necessary to afford employees a private right of action against employers to enforce the minimum wage law, it would have expressly done so. Compare, e.g.,R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-5-24.1, 28-29 (setting forth framework for individual claims under Fair Employment Practices Act). Absent any indication from the statute itself or in the legislative history that this is what the legislature intended, it would be clearly inappropriate to create such a right by judicial fiat.”

The Court then tackled the more nuanced issue of whether Rhode Island has waived sovereign immunity under the FLSA, and held it has not. “The issue in this case, however, is not so easily dispatched because of an interesting procedural wrinkle: whether the State waived its Eleventh Amendment immunity as to an FLSA claim by removing the action from Rhode Island Superior Court to federal court?

A state may consent to suit by a clear declaration of its intention to submit itself to federal court jurisdiction, and may waive immunity to suit by voluntarily invoking federal court jurisdiction. See Coll. Sav. Bank v. Fla. Prepaid Postsecondary Educ. Expense Bd., 527 U.S. 666, 670, 675 (1999); Lombardo v. Pennsylvania Dep’t of Pub. Welfare, 540 F.3d 190, 195-96 (3d Cir.2008). The “test for determining whether a State has waived its immunity from federal-court jurisdiction is a stringent one.” Atascadero State Hosp. v. Scanlon, 473 U.S. 234, 241 (1985). There is no suggestion here that Rhode Island expressly consented to be sued for an FLSA violation in federal court. Rather, Plaintiffs say the State’s removal voluntarily invoked jurisdiction, constituting an implied waiver of immunity.

The leading decision on “waiver by removal” is Lapides v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. Sys. Of Georgia, and it is instructive but not on all fours with the present circumstances. 535 U.S. 613 (2002).Lapides discussed whether a state that removes a claim to federal court waives Eleventh Amendment immunity when the state already consented to suit for the claim in its own state court. Id. at 616-17.The Supreme Court held that it did, because otherwise the state would unfairly regain in a federal forum an immunity which it voluntarily abandoned in state court. Id. Importantly, though, the decision did not directly address the effect of removal of a claim as to which a state retained immunity in its own state court-arguably the situation here, and the subject of post-Lapides debate. See, e.g., Stewart v. North Carolina, 393 F.3d 484, 490-91 (4th Cir.2005) (discussing scope of Lapides and holding a state does not waive immunity by removal when it would have been immune from suit for the same claim in state court); Boone v. Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehab., 373 F.Supp.2d 484, 499-500 (M.D.Pa.2005) (barring ADA claims against state despite removal because state retained immunity from suit under the ADA in state court).

Under Lapides, the question here, then, is whether Rhode Island retained its immunity from suit as to an FLSA claim in its own courts. If it did, removal triggers no concerns about inconsistency or unfair litigation gamesmanship because in either forum, the State maintains its immunity. As a starting point, under Alden v. Maine the State is correct that it is immune from suit in its own court under the FLSA absent consent or waiver. 527 U.S. 706, 755-57 (1999). Thus the key issue is Plaintiffs’ contention that Rhode Island waived this Alden immunity in its own courts.

Waivers of immunity must not be lightly implied and must be “stated by the most express language or by such overwhelming implications from the text as [will] leave no room for any other reasonable construction.” Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 673 (1974) (internal citation and quotation omitted); see Andrade v. Rhode Island, 448 A.2d 1293, 1295 (R.I.1982) (noting courts must presume the legislature did not intend to “deprive the state of any part of its sovereign power unless the intent to do so is clearly expressed or arises by necessary implication from the statutory language”). The Court has not identified, nor have the parties offered, any Rhode Island state case addressing waiver of immunity as to a wage claim.

Plaintiffs first suggest the State made itself amenable to suit for claims “identical” to the FLSA via the Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act, so “it does not make much sense to allow the State to ignore parallel federal law.”They claim “there is no question that the state courts permit suits against the State under the Act.”(See Pl.’s Obj. to M. to Dismiss 8 (Doc. No. 8).) But there is indeed a question. As detailed above, the statute lacks express consent by the State to be sued for wage violations. Compare Anthony v. Iowa, 632 N.W.2d 897, 900-02 (Iowa 2001) (rejecting state’s immunity claim under Alden to FLSA action in state court where state wage and labor scheme provided express consent to be sued). The fact that Rhode Island’s wage statute excludes some, but not all, state employees from the overtime provisions (arguably suggesting all other state employees are subject to the provisions) does not mean the State intended to make itself amenable to suit for those claims. And while it may well be the case that the State could be subject to an action in its own courts by the Rhode Island DOL, or an FLSA action by the Secretary of Labor in federal court, this is not a substitute for a clear and unequivocal waiver of immunity for private causes of action. The bottom line is that the simple enactment of wage provisions reflecting or mirroring the FLSA, without more, is too thin a reed on which to find clear waiver. See Jarrett v. Alexander, 235 F.Supp.2d 1208, 1215 (M.D.Ala.2002) (discussing waiver of immunity for FLSA claim in federal court where state did not waive immunity merely because it “incorporated portions of the FLSA or its regulations into state law”); Crawford v. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Gov’t, No. 06-299-JBC, 2007 WL 101862, at *2-3 (E.D.Ky. Jan. 10, 2007) (refusing to find waiver of immunity simply because state wage law broadly defined “employer” and “employee”)

Finally, Plaintiffs urge “waiver by necessary implication.” This, they claim, comes from the fact that sovereign immunity in general has been “obliterated” for many tort and employment-related claims in Rhode Island-creating a landscape “vastly” different than the one in Maine, which was found not to constitute waiver in Alden.

There is no question that in some circumstances Rhode Island has explicitly waived its sovereign immunity. See, e.g.,R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-31-1 (governmental tort liability). But no such explicit waiver exists here, and the cases on which Plaintiffs rely for implied waiver are very situation-specific and fail to support this broad, so-called “obliteration” of immunity. See, e.g., Pellegrino v. Rhode Island Ethics Comm’n, 788 A.2d 1119, 1123-25 (R.I.2002) (state impliedly waived immunity by providing for compensation to commission members for attendance at meetings and then refusing to pay, because disallowing recovery would give statute a “mere nugatory existence”); Donnelly v. Town of Lincoln, 730 A.2d 5, 10 (R.I.1999) (town not insulated from prejudgment interest award in workers compensation case because it voluntarily joined workers’ compensation system) (emphasis added); Capital Props., Inc. v. State, 749 A.2d 1069, 1081 (R.I.1999) (over city’s protest, state could waive immunity and bring declaratory judgment action to determine contractual obligations).

In sum, Rhode Island is not unlike many states that pick and choose what classes of suits to permit, and there is nothing wrong with such a selective practice: “To the extent Maine has chosen to consent to certain classes of suits while maintaining its immunity from others, it has done no more than exercise a privilege of sovereignty concomitant to its constitutional immunity from suit.” Alden, 527 U.S. at 758. Nothing in Rhode Island’s “landscape” or wage laws justifies finding waiver of immunity by necessary implication. See Reagan Constr. Corp. v. Mayer, 712 A .2d 372, 373 (R.I.1998) (“When a statute purporting to waive any aspect of the state’s sovereign immunity is examined, the language of the statute must be closely parsed and strictly construed.”).

Consequently, because the State did not consent to suit or waive its Alden immunity to be sued in its courts under the FLSA, removal does not waive its Seminole Tribe immunity in federal court. The result is harsh but could be easily changed with a stroke of the legislative pen, if so desired. See Rodriguez v. Puerto Rico Fed. Affairs Admin., 435 F.3d 378, 380 (D.C.Cir.2006) (“Taken together, Seminole Tribe and Alden mean that state employees no longer have any ‘court of competent jurisdiction,’ 29 U .S.C. § 216(b) [FLSA], in which to sue their employers for FLSA violations.”).”

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