Judge Paul Engelmayer
Cromwell sued New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and its CEO, seeking to recover, on his own behalf and on behalf of a putative class of employees, unpaid wages allegedly owed to hourly employees for work performed before and after scheduled shifts, and during meal periods and breaks. Cromwell asserted that defendants deprived him and similarly situated HHC employees of overtime and gap-time pay, contrary to the Fair Labor Standards Act and/or New York Labor Law §§191 (NYLL). Defendants moved to dismiss Cromwell’s NYLL claims against HHC, contending that HHC is a political subdivision of New York State and is thus exempt from NYLL’s wage provisions. The court partly dismissed Cromwell’s NYLL claims with prejudice, determining that HHC was statutorily created to serve an essential public and governmental function that receives substantial public funding and is widely characterized as a political subdivision and public employer under both state and federal law. The court added that the fact that employers covered by the NYLL are subject to paying 100 percent in liquidated damages, on top of liability for back wages, favors exempting HHC, particularly given HHC’s public mission and funding.
