Costello v. Home Depot USA, Inc.

James Costello (plaintiff) worked for Home Depot USA, Incorporated (Home Depot) (defendant) as a merchandising assistant store manager (MASM). The MASM job description stated that the major tasks and responsibilities included interviewing and recommending applicants, scheduling associates, developing associates, maintaining profitability, providing leadership, ensuring safety, and ensuring store objectives were met. Costello conducted over 200 interviews of applicants, reviewed associate schedules, held meetings with department supervisors, developed plans for improvement to store operations, prepared performance reviews of associates, and made recommendations that impacted employee promotions and raises. Costello estimated that his recommendations were followed 90 to 99 percent of the time. Costello mentored employees and had authority to discipline them. Costello was responsible for addressing safety violations at the store and walking the store upon opening to ensure there were no safety issues. Costello was responsible for customer satisfaction. He spent up to three hours each week in management meetings. Costello served as the manager on duty sometimes. His salary was $44,000 to $50,000 per year plus bonuses and stock options while working 55 or more hours per week. Sales associates and department supervisors in Costello’s region earned up to $17.57 per hour and $22.23 per hour, respectively. Costello claimed that customer service and manual labor occupied a majority of his time and that he spent around 10 hours per week doing traditionally managerial tasks. Costello sued Home Depot for failure to pay for overtime work in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Home Depot filed a motion for summary judgment.