Train dispatchers sued their employer, Bombardier Mass Transit Corporation, for unpaid wages. They alleged they were entitled to overtime wages and wage statement penalties for on-call time.
When a California employer fails to pay wages to an employee, the employee may either: 1) file an original civil action directly in court, or 2) seek administrative relief with the California Labor Commissioner under the Berman statutes (Labor Code section 98 and following.) If the employee elects for administrative relief, the Labor Commissioner may: accept the matter and conduct a Berman hearing; prosecute a civil action for collection of wages; or take no further action on the complaint.
The train dispatchers first decided to seek relief from the Labor Commissioner. The Labor Commissioner denied their claim.
The train dispatchers then filed a request for de novo hearing in the superior court. The train dispatchers prevailed in the superior court, receiving over $140,000 in back wages and penalties. They then moved for attorneys’ fees and costs, which the trial court granted in the amount of $200,000.
On appeal, Bombardier accepted its liability for the more than $140,000 in back wages and penalties. Bombardier’s sole argument on appeal was that Berman hearing process described in Labor Code section 98.2(c) is the exclusive statute authorizing an award of attorneys’ fees and costs in a superior court appeal from the Labor Commissioner’s Berman order. Based on this logic, Bombardier concluded that the train dispatchers were not entitled to recover attorneys’ fees and costs because section 98.2(c) only authorizes an award against unsuccessful appellants in a de novo trial in superior court.
The Court of Appeal disagreed with Bombardier’s argument, and upheld the trial court’s decision. The Court emphasized that the Berman procedure penalizes only those who lose a de novo superior court action. The Court noted that: 1) those who win superior court actions for unpaid wages – like the train dispatchers — are generally entitled to an award of reasonable fees and costs under Labor Code sections 218.5, 226, and 1194; and 2) nothing in section 98.2 suggested that the Legislature intended to make this remedy unavailable to employees who used the Berman hearing process. Thus, the Court affirmed the order awarding $200,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs to the train dispatchers.
Villalva v. Bombardier Mass Transit Corp., 2025 Cal.App. LEXIS 19 (1/19/25.)