Hatcher v. County of Hanover, Virginia

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia addresses the County of Hanover’s second motion for summary judgment in Christopher Hatcher’s individual claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Virginia Gap Pay Act. The court concludes that Hatcher has established standing sufficient to proceed at the summary-judgment stage, but that no genuine dispute of material fact remains regarding his claims. The court grants the County’s motion and dismisses the case.

Holdings

1. Hatcher had standing to pursue his FLSA and Virginia Gap Pay Act claims because the evidence created a genuine dispute as to whether he was required to mark on before his shift without compensation, which constituted an alleged concrete monetary injury fairly traceable to the County and redressable by damages.
2. Hatcher could not recover under the FLSA because the record contained no evidence that he performed compensable principal activities while marked on or commuting before his shift. On these facts, marking on with Street Crimes Unit 1 was a preliminary activity excluded from compensable work time by the Portal-to-Portal Act.
3. The County was entitled to summary judgment on Hatcher's Virginia Gap Pay Act claim because the claim necessarily depended on prevailing on the underlying FLSA claim, which Hatcher did not do.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Hatcher had Article III standing to pursue his FLSA and Virginia Gap Pay Act claims despite marking on with Street Crimes Unit 1 rather than Dispatch.
2. Whether the evidence created a genuine dispute of material fact that Hatcher performed compensable work under the FLSA while marked on before his shift.
3. Whether Hatcher's Virginia Gap Pay Act claim survived when his FLSA claim failed.

Disposition

dismissed