Plaintiffs Jose Roberto Rios-Gutierrez and others sued defendants Briggs Traditional Turf Farm, Inc. and related entities in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri raising claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Missouri and Kansas state wage laws, RICO, filing of false information returns, and violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Before the court are cross-motions for summary judgment filed by both plaintiffs and defendants.
Statement of Undisputed Facts
Plaintiffs were Mexican nationals who worked for defendants between 2018 and 2021 on H-2A visas. Defendants reported to the government that they needed the workers to perform sod production on defendants’ sod farm. However, plaintiffs allege they were required to perform landscaping work at commercial, residential, and government properties. Plaintiffs assert they regularly worked over 40 hours per week but were rarely paid overtime premiums.
Defendants Briggs Traditional Turf Farm and Briggs Turf shared office space, equipment, and some employees. Briggs Traditional contracted with MAS Labor H2A, LLC to provide H-2A workers. In applying for H-2A workers, defendants listed work locations as sod farms, but plaintiffs generally did not work on the farms and instead installed sod at off-site locations. Defendants paid overtime to U.S. citizen employees doing the same work as the H-2A workers.
There were some evidentiary disputes regarding declarations submitted by defendants after the close of discovery. The court noted these declarations contained self-serving statements not supported by other evidence in the record.
Legal Analysis
FLSA Claims: The court found that plaintiffs’ typical work installing sod at off-site locations did not qualify as primary or secondary agriculture under the FLSA. The court rejected defendants’ argument that the H-2A visa status automatically made the work agricultural. The court granted summary judgment to plaintiffs on the issue of liability for FLSA overtime violations but left the amount of damages for later determination.
State Law Claims: The court granted summary judgment to plaintiffs on their Missouri overtime law claims, finding the work was not exempt agricultural labor. The court dismissed plaintiffs’ Kansas overtime law claims, finding they were preempted by the FLSA.
RICO Claims:The court denied summary judgment to defendants on the RICO claims, finding questions of fact remained regarding defendants’ intent in submitting visa applications.
False Information Returns: The court denied summary judgment to both parties on the false information returns claim, finding questions of fact remained regarding defendants’ state of mind.
Section 1981 Claim: The court granted summary judgment to plaintiffs on their Section 1981 alienage discrimination claim, based on defendants’ admission that they paid U.S. citizens overtime but not H-2A workers for the same work.
Alter Ego Claims: The court denied summary judgment to defendants on plaintiffs’ alter ego claims, finding questions of fact remained regarding the interrelationship of the defendant entities.
The court granted summary judgment to plaintiffs on liability for FLSA and Missouri overtime violations and the Section 1981 claim, dismissed the Kansas overtime claim, and denied summary judgment on the remaining claims.
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