CA8 Arkansas H-2B Wage Victory - Cuellar-Aguilar v. Deggeller Attractions, Inc.

Cuellar-Aguilar v. Deggeller Attractions, Inc., Dec. 15, 2015 - "Appellants are nineteen workers who were employed by Deggeller Attractions, Inc. (“Deggeller”), a Florida corporation that operates a traveling carnival in Arkansas and various other states. Following their employment, the workers brought a class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and similarly situated Deggeller employees. The workers alleged that Deggeller had breached its employment contracts and violated the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act by underpaying its workers. The workers further alleged that Deggeller fraudulently had under-reported the workers’ income to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7434. The district court dismissed the breach of contract and tax fraud claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The court then declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the Arkansas minimum-wage claim. Finally, the court denied the workers’ motion to alter judgment, in which the workers sought to file a second amended complaint. We reverse the district court’s dismissal of the breach of contract and tax-fraud claims and vacate its decision not to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the Arkansas minimum wage claim."