10th Circuit Finds Employee Who Only Worked in Colorado Falls Under State MCA Exemption

In a recent ruling, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's order granting summary judgment in which the district court held that an employee may be exempt from overtime under Colorado's motor carrier exemption even when the employee does not actually travel out of state. Combs v. Jaguar Energy Services, LLC, No. 16-1250 (March 31, 2017).

Factual Background

Michael Combs, a member of a three to five person crew responsible for transporting supplies to assigned work sites, filed suit against his employer, Jaguar Energy Services, LLC, alleging violations of the overtime hour provision under Colorado Minimum Wage Order Number 33. Combs worked out of Jaguar's Colorado office, which sent approximately 15 percent of its crews to out-of-state work sites, but Combs never traveled outside of Colorado in connection with his employment. Colorado's Minimum Wage Order require overtime payments to employees in specified industries, and Combs argued no relevant exemption applied to his employment. Jaguar argued, however, that Combs fell within Colorado Minimum Wage Order Number 33's exemption for "interstate drivers, driver helpers, loaders or mechanics of motor carriers."

The District Court's Analysis

The district court granted Jaguar's motion for summary judgment based on its application of the "last antecedent canon," noting that the word "interstate" in the Colorado Minimum Wage Order's motor carrier exemption immediately precedes only the term "drivers," and determined that the interstate limitation did not apply to driver helpers, loaders, or mechanics of motor carriers. The district court held that, as a driver helper and loader of a motor carrier, Combs was exempt from overtime requirements under Colorado law irrespective of whether he traveled across state lines as part of his job.

In addition to its consideration of the last antecedent cannon, the district court also applied the rationale applied by other courts construing the federal Motor Carrier Act (MCA) exemption to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to interpret the Colorado Minimum Wage Order's reference to "interstate" to apply to Combs. The district court reasoned that other courts considering the MCA exemption have applied that exemption to employees engaged in activities affecting interstate commerce, regardless of whether the employees actually traveled interstate or whether interstate travel made up a significant portion of the employer's business...