[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
SEPT 07, 2006
THOMAS K. KAHN
No. 06-11369
CLERK
Non-Argument Calendar
D. C. Docket No. 04-22640-CV-AJ
EUGENIO GARCIA,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
PORT ROYALE TRADING COMPANY, INC.,
LOUISE LYNCH,
OASIS OUTSOURCING, INC.,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
(September 7, 2006)
Before ANDERSON, BIRCH and DUBINA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
This is an appeal from the district court’s order granting summary judgment
in favor of the employer, Port Royale Trading Company, Inc., and others (“the
defendants”) in Eugenio Garcia’s claim brought under the Fair Labor Standards
Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. Essentially, Garcia contends that the
defendants violated the FLSA by failing to pay him overtime wages pursuant to
the actual requirements, and that he was entitled to time-and-one-half for each
hour worked in excess of 40 hours, rather than one-half-time.
The FLSA generally requires employers to compensate their employees at
one-and-one-half times the employee’s usual hourly rate, or “regular rate,” for
each hour worked over 40 hours. Davis v. Friendly, 2003 WL 21488682, *1 (11th
Cir. 2003) (citing 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)). But, the FLSA’s implementing
regulations permit employers to use alternative compensation schemes, like the
fluctuating workweek method (“FWW”),1 to suit various employment needs. 29
C.F.R. § 778.114.
1
Under the FWW, which is typically used for employees whose hours fluctuate from week
to week, the workweek is still capped at 40 hours, and any work in excess of 40 hours is considered
overtime for which an employee must be paid. Employees are compensated at a fixed salary per
week regardless of the number of hours worked (whether above or below 40 hours), and at one-half
(or 50%) the regular rate, instead of one-and-one-half times (or 150%) for each hour worked in
excess of 40 hours.
2
In granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants, the district court
correctly found that Garcia failed to show that he did not have a clear
understanding of the FWW method of compensation. Moreover, the record
demonstrates that Garcia was properly paid overtime under the FWW method of
compensation. Despite his claims of not understanding how he was paid due to
his alleged inability to understand the English language, either written or spoken,
he did understand how much money he was paid each week. He also knew that
his hours fluctuated each week and that once he executed the fixed salary for
fluctuating hours agreement, the manner in which he was compensated had
changed. For almost three years after the execution of the agreement, Garcia
began receiving a base salary regardless of the number of hours he worked and
received additional half-time for each hour over 40. Accordingly, for the above-
stated reasons, we conclude that the district court correctly granted summary
judgment in favor of the defendants.
AFFIRMED.
3