Employee Relations
For more information, contact Eraina Ortega at 916/327-7500, ext. 521 or eortega@counties.org , or Faith L. Conley at 916/327-7500, ext. 522 or fconley@counties.org.
California Court of Appeal Determines Most State Wage Laws Do Not Apply to Public Agencies
This month, in Johnson v. Arvin-Edison Water Storage District (June 3, 2009), the California Court of Appeal held that most of the state’s wage and hour laws do not apply to public employers.
The case involved a lawsuit alleging that the Arvin-Edison Water Storage District, a municipal corporation, was required to provide employees with daily overtime and meal periods in accordance with California Labor Code and wage laws.
While public agencies are required to meet the wage and hour laws set forth in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), unlike state law, FLSA does not require employers to pay daily overtime for over eight hours worked or to provide meal and rest periods. FLSA also does not require immediate wage payment upon the termination of employment, as put forth in California Labor Code sections 201 and 202.
The Court of Appeal ruled that daily overtime laws and laws regulating meal periods (California Labor Code sections 510 and 512) and the immediate wage payment upon employee termination do not apply to the public sector and that provisions in these sections only apply to private sector employees if public agencies are specifically included in the statute.
The court decision in its entirety can be found here.
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