Vanegas v. Signet Builders, Inc.

Dist. Ct. erred in dismissing for failure to state cause of action, plaintiff’s complaint, alleging that defendant-employer violated Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay him and his co-workers overtime pay when they worked at various Wisconsin and Indiana farms building livestock confinement facilities. While Dist. Ct. found that allegations in complaint established that plaintiff’s construction work fell under FLSA’s exemption from overtime pay for agricultural work, allegations in complaint did not establish whether his construction work was carried out as part of agricultural function or as separately organized production activity. Moreover, complaint did not address issue as to whether farmers typically hired independent contractors such as defendant to build livestock enclosures, which, if so, would indicate that building of said enclosures would not constitute agricultural work within meaning of FSLA.