Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit grants the government's motion to affirm a Court of Federal Claims judgment denying overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act for time spent commuting in a government-owned vehicle. The court relies on its precedents in Easter, Adams, and Bobo, lifts the stay, denies the motion to continue the stay and consolidate the case, and orders each side to bear its own costs.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether federal employees required to drive government-owned vehicles between home and work are entitled to overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act for that travel time.
- Whether the Federal Circuit should summarily affirm the Court of Federal Claims' judgment under controlling precedent.
- Whether the stay of the briefing schedule should be continued and the case consolidated with other cases.
Holdings
- Federal employees are not entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act for time spent driving between home and work in a government-owned vehicle under the circumstances presented.
- Summary disposition and affirmance were appropriate because controlling precedent made the government's position clearly correct as a matter of law and presented no substantial question regarding the appeal's outcome.
- The motion to continue the stay of the briefing schedule and consolidate the case with other cases was denied.
Key quotations
“The Court of Federal Claims in this ease properly relied on Adams and Bobo and held that overtime pay is not permitted for such an activity in this case.” (17)
“Under the circumstances, we determine that affirmance of the judgment of the Court of Federal Claims is required by our precedent.” (17)
Factual background
Grush was a federal employee who sought overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act for time spent driving between his home and workplace in a government-owned vehicle. The government required employees in the relevant circumstances to use government vehicles for that travel. The Court of Federal Claims denied the claim based on Federal Circuit precedent holding that such commuting time is not compensable under the FLSA.
Procedural history
The Court of Federal Claims granted summary judgment for the United States, holding that federal employees required to use government vehicles for commuting are not entitled to overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act for that travel time. On appeal, the Federal Circuit granted the government's motion for affirmance, lifted the stay of the briefing schedule, affirmed the judgment, and denied Grush's motion to continue the stay and consolidate.