Polycarpe v. E&S Landscaping Serv., Inc., 08-15154

In Polycarpe v. E&S Landscaping Serv., Inc., 08-15154, a case involving consolidated Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) actions claiming that during plaintiffs' employment they worked more than forty hours per week and defendant employers failed to pay them either a federally mandated minimum wage, the court reversed summary judgment for defendants, on the grounds that 1) if a district court, ruling for a defendant, applied the "coming to rest" doctrine -- for instance, by looking at where defendant bought an item instead of where an item was produced, the court must vacate the judgment for the defendant if there was a question about where the "goods" or "materials" were produced or where they moved; and 2) for the purposes of the FLSA's handling clause, an item will count as "materials" if it accords with the definition of "materials" -- tools or other articles necessary for doing or making something -- in the context of its use and if the employer has employees "handling, selling, or otherwise working on" the item for the employer's commercial (not just any) purposes.

Related Resources

• Full Text of Polycarpe v. E&S Landscaping Serv., Inc., 08-15154