Employer argues no attorneys’ fees for successful appeal of wage claim

The California Labor Code has a streamlined labor commissioner process in which employee wage claims can be raised and determined, and the losing party has a right to appeal to the superior court. The process has its own set of rules, which are ordinarily followed to the letter. In a recent appeal, an employer argued that under the rules, as followed to the letter, the employee wasn’t entitled to attorneys’ fees. Will the court of appeals see it that way?

Appeals court finds fee award to be on the right track

Mark Villalva and Bobby Jason Yelverton are train dispatchers who filed claims for unpaid wages against their employer Bombardier Mass Transit Corporation. One weekend a month, they were “on-call” and had to be available to respond to emergency calls. They hired a lawyer and filed complaints with the labor commissioner using the administrative process provided by the Berman statutes, alleging they were entitled to overtime wages under section 1194 and wage statement penalties under section 226 for their unpaid on-call time. The commissioner denied the claims in their entirety.

Represented by the same counsel, Villalva and Yelverton sought a new (de novo) trial on their claims in the San Diego Superior Court under Labor Code section 98.2, which allows a party to seek review of the commissioner’s order “by filing an appeal to the superior court, where the appeal shall be heard de novo.”