Employer Properly Computed Overtime On Flat-Sum Attendance Bonuses

Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp. of Cal., 243 Cal. App. 4th 1200 (2016)

According to Dart's written policy, a $15 attendance bonus would be paid to any employee who was scheduled to work a weekend shift and completed the full shift. Hector Alvarado challenged Dart's calculation of overtime payments and sued for violations of the Labor Code and the Private Attorneys' General Act (PAGA). The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Dart on the ground that there is no California law applicable to calculating overtime on attendance bonuses paid in the same period in which they were earned while distinguishing a prior appellate court opinion and rejecting as "void" and without the force of law two sections of the DLSE Manual (Sections 49.2.4.2 and 42.2.4.3). The Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that Dart's use of the federal formula for computing overtime on flat-sum bonuses is lawful.

Class Action Was Properly Dismissed For Failure To Prosecute

Castillo v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., 243 Cal. App. 4th 1186 (2015)

Henry Castillo filed this putative class action based on alleged violations of the wage and hour laws. The trial court granted defendants' motion to dismiss based on plaintiff's failure to bring the case to trial within five years. In opposition, Castillo contended that the running of the five-year period was tolled by operation of law while the parties pursued private mediation. The trial court rejected Castillo's tolling argument, and the Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that because the trial court did not order and the parties did not stipulate to submit the case to mediation pursuant to Cal. Rule of Court 3.891, it was properly dismissed under the five-year rule.

Unaccepted Settlement Offer Does Not Moot Putative Class Action

Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 577 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 663 (2016)

In this putative class action involving an alleged violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (prohibiting using an automatic dialing system to send a text message to a cellular telephone, absent the recipient's express consent), Campbell-Ewald proposed to settle Jose Gomez's individual claim and filed an offer of judgment pursuant to FRCP 68. Gomez did not accept the offer and allowed it to expire. Campbell-Ewald then moved to dismiss the case on the ground that the unaccepted offer mooted Gomez's claim by offering him complete relief. The district court granted the motion to dismiss, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed. In this opinion, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit, holding that Gomez's complaint was not effaced by Campbell-Ewald's unaccepted offer because under basic contract principles, a settlement bid, once rejected, has no continuing efficacy.