Thomas Schemkes v. Jacob Transportation Services

MEMORANDUM

Thomas Schemkes appeals the district court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of his employer, Jacob Transportation Services ' (JTS), on his claims for unlawful retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Nevada state law. Schemkes contends that summary judgment was improper because he produced evidence demonstrating that JTS’s reasons for firing him were pretex-tual; the FLSA remedy does not preclude an action for retaliation under Nevada state law; and the district court abused its discretion when it granted JTS’s untimely motion to dismiss the collective action allegation.

1. Schemkes has failed to raise a material issue of fact that JTS’s proffered reasons for firing him were pretextual. See Vasquez v. Cty. of Los Angeles, 349 F.3d 634, 642 (9th Cir. 2004), as amended. Schemkes admitted that the proffered reasons for firing him are factually correct— he lied on his employment application and kept money paid by customers that should have been turned over to JTS. Construed in the light most favorable to Schemkes, the statement attributed to JTS’s CEO was ,an ambiguous stray remark that did not link Schemkes’ firing to the lawsuit against JTS…