Beukes v. Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC
- Douglas Micko
- 0:24-cv-00828
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 20
In Beukes v. Boehnke Waste Handling, Judge Micko conditionally certified a wage collective under the Fair Labor Standards Act and approved revised notices for temporary agricultural visa workers.
The order affects the four named plaintiffs, other H-2A workers employed by Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC from 2021 through 2024 who may choose to join the collective, Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC, and Chad J. Boehnke. The defendants must post notices and provide specified worker contact information.
What happened
In Beukes v. Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC, four laborers alleged that the company and Chad J. Boehnke underpaid H-2A temporary agricultural workers. They claimed they were wrongly treated as exempt agricultural workers, denied overtime, and not paid for certain work-related travel time.
The plaintiffs asked to notify similarly situated workers and allow them to join the lawsuit. The defendants argued that the workers were not sufficiently similar, that some plaintiffs were inadequate representatives, and that the claims required a more detailed review before notice. The court rejected that approach for this early stage, where the plaintiffs’ burden is low and the court does not decide disputed facts or the ultimate merits.
Judge Micko granted the motion for conditional certification, making the case a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action for H-2A workers employed by Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC from 2021 through 2024. The court adopted the proposed notices with amendments, required notice by mail and text message with follow-up email, ordered the defendants to post notices and provide worker contact information, and set a 120-day deadline for filing consent forms.
The detailed version
- Beukes v. Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC · No. 0:24-cv-00828
- Douglas L. Micko
- Oct. 3, 2024
Background
The plaintiffs were laborers who had worked for Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC. Chad J. Boehnke was one of the company’s principals. The company processed manure for farms and ranches throughout the Midwest, and the plaintiffs’ work included pumping, processing, hauling, and spreading manure.
The plaintiffs alleged that Boehnke Waste took advantage of their noncitizen H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker status by underpaying them in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). They claimed that the company represented in H-2A applications that the workers would perform agricultural work but instead assigned them tasks including mechanical equipment repair, equipment and manure hauling on public roads, manure pumping, and construction and demolition projects. The plaintiffs alleged that this work was not agricultural and therefore was eligible for overtime pay. They also alleged that the company did not pay them for compensable travel between worksites and the company’s Minnesota headquarters during normal working hours.
The plaintiffs sought conditional certification of an FLSA collective consisting of all H-2A workers employed by Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC at any time from 2021 through 2024. Three additional workers had filed notices seeking to join the lawsuit. The plaintiffs supported their motion with declarations stating that the workers performed similar manure-related work, regularly worked more than 40 hours per week, rarely received overtime pay, and were not paid for their work-related travel time.
Conditional-certification standard
The FLSA permits employees to bring a collective action for themselves and other employees who are similarly situated. Unlike a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, an FLSA collective action requires workers to affirmatively opt in.
The court applied the two-step approach commonly used in the District of Minnesota. At the first stage, plaintiffs must show a factual connection suggesting that they and potential collective members were victims of a common unlawful policy or plan and that other similarly situated workers might want to join. This is a low burden. The court generally considers the pleadings and supporting declarations, does not decide credibility disputes or make final factual findings, and reserves a more searching review for a later stage after notice and discovery.
The defendants asked the court to use a stricter approach adopted by a Fifth Circuit panel in another case. The court declined to adopt that framework, concluding that it was inconsistent with the established approach in the District of Minnesota and with the purpose of early notice in an FLSA collective action.
Court’s analysis
The court found that the plaintiffs had provided a sufficient factual basis for conditional certification. Their allegations and declarations plausibly supported claims that Boehnke Waste commonly treated H-2A workers as exempt agricultural employees, that the workers regularly worked more than 40 hours per week without receiving all required overtime, and that the company failed to pay for compensable travel time.
The court also found sufficient interest in the lawsuit. Four named plaintiffs and three additional workers had joined or sought to join during the first five months of litigation. The court considered that showing significant in light of the communication challenges associated with workers who might be traveling for H-2A work or might have returned to countries outside the United States.
The court did not resolve the defendants’ arguments about the plaintiffs’ adequacy, alleged misconduct by two plaintiffs, the classification of the work, or the ultimate merits of the wage claims. It stated that a more searching inquiry could occur if the defendants later moved to decertify the collective after discovery.
Notice and contact information
The court approved the plaintiffs’ proposed notice and consent forms with revisions. It found that notice by U.S. Mail alone might be ineffective because the H-2A work was transient and the workers might be away from their permanent residences. The court therefore authorized notice by U.S. Mail and text message, including short-message service and WhatsApp. If a worker did not respond within 30 days, the plaintiffs were directed to send follow-up notice by email.
The court also approved electronic consent through DocuSign or another reliable method, as well as signed forms sent by fax, email, or U.S. Mail. The proposed 180-day opt-in period was reduced to 120 days from the date of the order. The notice was also required to explain electronic submission methods and how to use them.
Order
The court ordered the following:
- The plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify Conditional Class was GRANTED, and the action became a conditional FLSA collective action for all H-2A workers employed by Boehnke Waste Handling, LLC at any time from 2021 through
- 2. The proposed notice and consent forms were ADOPTED with the stated amendments.
- The plaintiffs, through counsel, were directed to distribute the notices by U.S. Mail and text message, with follow-up email after 30 days if necessary.
- The defendants were directed to post the approved long-form notice in common areas of housing locations occupied by their current H-2A workers within 14 days.
- The defendants were directed to provide plaintiffs’ counsel within 14 days with putative collective members’ names, employment dates, last-known addresses, email addresses, and known telephone or messaging-service numbers.
- Putative collective members were required to file consent forms no later than 120 days from the date of the order.
The order addressed conditional certification and notice procedures; it did not decide whether the plaintiffs will ultimately prevail on their FLSA claims.
Read the full 20-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.