United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED March 24, 2023 No. 22-50170 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

Samuel Cunningham,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus

Circle 8 Crane Services, L.L.C.,

Defendant—Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 7:20-CV-106

Before Elrod, Haynes, and Willett, Circuit Judges. Haynes, Circuit Judge: Samuel Cunningham was employed as a crane mechanic by Circle 8 Crane Services, LLC—a business that owns and leases self-propelled, hydraulic cranes to customers in several southwestern states. After Circle 8 terminated him, Cunningham sued claiming that Circle 8 failed to pay him overtime compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, (“FLSA”) 29 U.S.C. § 207(a). Circle 8 moved for summary judgment, arguing that Cunningham was exempt from the overtime compensation requirements as a “mechanic” under the Motor Carrier Act (“MCA”). The district court agreed, concluding that Cunningham was a “mechanic” Case: 22-50170 Document: 00516688530 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/24/2023

No. 22-50170

because he engaged in activities of a character that directly affected the safety of operation of the mobile cranes in interstate commerce and therefore granted the motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM. I. Facts Circle 8 owns and leases self-propelled, hydraulic cranes to companies for projects in oilfields. The cranes—which are permanently affixed to a truck chassis and can legally travel on highways—are transported to customer jobsites throughout the southern and southwestern United States, including Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico. As a crane mechanic, Cunningham traveled to these sites and other Circle 8 office locations where the cranes were stored to perform repairs and maintenance on the hydraulic, electrical, and pneumatic systems in the cranes. For instance, he repaired the cranes’ brakes, lights, horns, windshield wipers, transmissions, wheels, axles, tires, starters, and ignitions. On average, Cunningham serviced approximately five to twenty cranes a week and would travel out of state to service these cranes several times a month, if not several times a week. He estimated that he worked, on average, eighty hours per week. Cunningham was employed in this position for approximately three years—from April 2017 until March 2020. Initially, he was paid hourly and received overtime compensation, but in March 2018, despite no change in job responsibilities, Circle 8 converted him to a salaried position. In March 2020, Cunningham gave his two-week notice to Circle 8 that he would be resigning. Three days later, Circle 8 terminated him. Cunningham sued Circle 8 claiming that it failed to pay him overtime compensation in violation of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 207(a). Circle 8 moved for summary judgment, arguing that Cunningham was exempt from the

2 Case: 22-50170 Document: 00516688530