Jackson v. ProAmpac LLC

OPINION & ORDER   Plaintiffs Noemy Jackson, Roberto Perez, and Raymundo Gallardo (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) bring this action, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, against Defendants ProAmpac LLC, Ampac Holdco. Inc., and Ampac Paper, LLC (collectively, “ProAmpac”), asserting claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”).¹ (See Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”), ECF No. 51-1.) Pending before the Court are (1) Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ NYLL §193 and 195 claims and (2) Plaintiffs’ motion to conditionally certify an FLSA collective action. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion and GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Plaintiffs’ motion. BACKGROUND ProAmpac “manufactures flexible packing supplies” at a facility located in Walden, New York. (SAC at 1.) Plaintiffs worked alongside one another and others similarly-situated as hourly-paid, non-exempt employees at the Walden facility. (Id.) Plaintiffs and similarly-situated employees worked together as machine operators, assistants, or “catchers,” as well as other manual labor positions in the converting and printing departments. (Id. at 36.) Plaintiffs were employees in the converting department, which “assembles raw materials into paper bags, prints onto the bags, and packages the bags.” (Affirmation of Noemy Jackson (“Jackson Aff.”) at 5, ECF No. 34-1; Affirmation of Roberto Perez (“Perez Aff.”) at 5, ECF No. 34-2; Affirmation of Reynaldo Cruz (“Cruz Aff.”) at 4, ECF No. 34-3.) “Operators” run the machine “which assembles and prints the paper bags” (Perez Aff. at 5), “catchers” collect finished bags from the machine and examine them for quality assurance (Jackson Aff. at 5), and “assistants” or “helpers” provide support to “operators” and “catchers” in maintaining the machines and collecting bags (Cruz Aff. at 4). Ms. Jackson was a “catcher” and worked as a full-time employee for more than twenty-five years until March 2022, when she was fired. (SAC at 10; Jackson Aff. at

3, 5.) Mr. Perez is an “operator” and full-time employee who has also worked for ProAmpac for nearly twenty-five years. (SAC at 14; Perez Aff. at