Gordon v. Riverdale SNF, LLC

Background

Pernell Gordon and Latoya Gordon sued Riverdale SNF, LLC, doing business as Schervier Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center, and five related entities. Pernell Gordon asserted a federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim for unpaid overtime on behalf of himself and similarly situated employees. Both plaintiffs asserted New York Labor Law (NYLL) claims concerning unpaid wages, late payment, and inaccurate wage statements.

Pernell Gordon alleged that he worked eight-hour shifts but had 30 minutes deducted each day for meal breaks, even though he worked during some of that time. He estimated that he worked about 65 minutes of unpaid meal-break time each week and alleged that, during six-day workweeks, his total working time exceeded 40 hours without receiving overtime pay. Latoya Gordon alleged about 45 minutes of unpaid meal-break time each week. Both plaintiffs alleged that their wage statements did not accurately report their hours and that they were paid every two weeks despite regularly performing physical work.

Defendants moved to dismiss the First Amended Complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), which concerns subject-matter jurisdiction, and Rule 12(b)(6), which concerns whether a complaint adequately states a legal claim.

Rulings on the Employer Defendants

The court dismissed with prejudice the claims against 2975 Independence Avenue, LLC; TL Management, LLC; TL Management Co., LLC; TL Healthcare Leasing, LLC; and TL Healthcare Holdings, LLC. The court held that the plaintiffs did not plausibly allege that these entities were their employers under the FLSA or NYLL.

The plaintiffs relied on a theory that the entities operated as a single integrated enterprise. Courts evaluating that theory consider the interrelation of operations, centralized control of labor relations, common management, and common ownership or financial control. The court found that the complaint’s allegations about a shared address, a shared operating officer, and a newspaper article concerning the hiring of an existing workforce did not adequately show that the five entities controlled labor relations or shared employees, records, equipment, finances, or other operations with Riverdale. The court also found that the plaintiffs had already had two opportunities to plead these facts. Riverdale SNF, LLC was not dismissed and remains a defendant.

FLSA Overtime Claim

The court denied the motion to dismiss Pernell Gordon’s FLSA overtime claim. To state such a claim, he had to allege that he worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and was not paid time-and-a-half for the excess time.

The court found his allegations sufficiently specific at the motion-to-dismiss stage. He described his work schedules, alleged alternating five- and six-day workweeks, stated that his paystubs reflected 7.5 hours for each eight-hour workday, estimated his weekly off-the-clock meal-break time, and alleged that he was not paid overtime during six-day workweeks. The court noted that he could have identified particular workweeks but concluded that the allegations were sufficient to proceed.

Supplemental Jurisdiction and NYLL § 191 Claims

The court retained supplemental jurisdiction, meaning authority to hear related state-law claims alongside the federal claim. The court found that the NYLL claims arose from the same general compensation practices as the FLSA claim and that declining jurisdiction could prejudice the plaintiffs by requiring them to refile in state court while this action continued.

The court declined to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims under NYLL § 191(1)(a), which requires covered manual workers to be paid weekly. The court recognized a conflict among New York appellate courts about whether NYLL §§ 191 and 198 provide a private right of action for late-payment claims. Predicting how New York’s highest court would resolve that issue, the court concluded that the statutes do provide such a right. The court also concluded that a 2025 amendment to NYLL § 198 supported that conclusion. The court denied defendants’ request to stay these claims as well.

NYLL Wage-Statement Claims

The court declined to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims under NYLL § 195(3), which concerns accurate wage statements. Plaintiffs alleged that their statements understated the hours they worked because meal-break time was automatically deducted. They further alleged that the inaccurate statements delayed their discovery of unpaid wages and allowed the employer to delay proper payment.

The court held that these allegations sufficiently pleaded both a concrete injury and a causal connection between the inaccurate statements and the alleged harm. The wage-statement claims therefore remain in the case against Riverdale.

Disposition

Judge Katherine Polk Failla ordered that defendants’ motion to dismiss was granted in part and denied in part. The Clerk was directed to terminate all defendants except Riverdale SNF, LLC, terminate the pending motion, and require the remaining parties to submit a revised case-management plan.