Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp. of Cal.

197 Cal. Rptr. 3d 304, 243 Cal. App. 4th 1200, 25 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1730, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1730, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 26
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 4th District
DecidedJanuary 14, 2016
DocketE061645
StatusPublished

This text of 197 Cal. Rptr. 3d 304 (Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp. of Cal.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 4th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp. of Cal., 197 Cal. Rptr. 3d 304, 243 Cal. App. 4th 1200, 25 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1730, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1730, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 26 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

CODRINGTON, J.

*1204I

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Hector Alvarado (plaintiff) appeals summary judgment entered in favor of defendant Dart Container Corporation of California (defendant). The facts are undisputed. This appeal raises the sole question of law of whether defendant's formula for calculating overtime on flat sum bonuses paid in the same pay period in which they are earned is lawful. We conclude it is. There is no California law specifying a method for computing overtime on flat sum bonuses, and defendant's formula complies with federal law, which provides a formula for calculating bonus overtime. We accordingly affirm summary judgment in favor of defendant.

II

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The following summary of facts is based on the parties' joint statement of undisputed material facts. Defendant is a producer of food service products, including cups and plates. Plaintiff began working for defendant in September 2010, as a warehouse associate, and was terminated in January 2012.

According to defendant's written policy, an attendance bonus would be paid to any employee who was scheduled to work a weekend shift and completed the full shift. The bonus was $15 per day, for working a full shift on Saturday or Sunday, regardless of the number of hours worked beyond the normal scheduled length of a shift.

*1205Defendant calculates the amount of overtime paid on attendance bonuses during a particular pay period as follows:

1. Multiply the number of overtime hours worked in a pay period by the straight hourly rate (straight hourly pay for overtime hours).
2. Add the total amount owed in a pay period for (a) regular non-overtime work, (b) for extra pay such as attendance bonuses, and (c) overtime due from the first step. That total amount is divided by the total hours worked during the pay period. This amount is the employee's "regular rate."
3. Multiply the number of overtime hours worked in a pay period by the employee's regular rate, which is determined in step 2. This amount is then divided in half to obtain the "overtime premium" amount, which is multiplied by the total number of overtime hours worked in the pay period (overtime premium pay).
4. Add the amount from step 1 to the amount in step 3 (total overtime pay). This overtime pay is added to the employee's regular hourly pay and the attendance bonus.

*306During plaintiff's employment, he earned attendance bonuses during weeks he worked overtime and sometimes double time.

In August 2012, plaintiff filed a complaint for damages and restitution, alleging defendant had not properly computed bonus overtime under California law. Plaintiff's complaint as amended (complaint) alleges the following causes of actions: (1) Failure to pay proper overtime in violation of Labor Code sections 510 and 1194 by not including shift differential premiums and bonuses in calculating overtime wages; (2) Failure to provide complete and accurate wage statements, in violation of Labor Code section 226 ; (3) Failure to timely pay all earned wages due at separation of employment, in violation of Labor Code sections 201, 202, and 203 ; (4) Unfair Business Practices, in violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq. ; and (5) civil penalties under the Private Attorneys' General Act of 2004, Labor Code section 2698 et seq. (PAGA).

Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment or, alternatively, for summary adjudication. Defendant argued that defendant's formula for calculating overtime on plaintiff's attendance bonuses, earned during pay periods in which they were earned, was lawful, and there was no legal basis for plaintiff's proposed alternative formula. Defendant further argued federal law applied to calculating overtime on the bonuses because there was no California law providing a formula for calculating overtime on bonuses. Defendant *1206asserted that plaintiff's proposed formula is based solely on California public policy and void regulations from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) Manual which have no force or effect. Defendant concluded that, since defendant's overtime formula complies with federal law and does not conflict with state law, it is lawful. Therefore plaintiff's entire complaint has no merit.

Plaintiff filed opposition, arguing there was valid California authority, Marin v. Costco Wholesale Corp. (2008) 169 Cal.App.4th 804, 87 Cal.Rptr.3d 161 (Marin ), applicable in the instant case to calculating overtime on bonuses. Plaintiff further argued that defendant's formula dilutes and reduces the regular rate of pay by including overtime hours when calculating the regular rate of pay used to compute overtime on plaintiff's flat sum bonuses. Plaintiff asserted this violates California wage and hour policy, in which overtime is discouraged. Plaintiff also argued defendant's formula failed to account for all required overtime rates and improperly used a multiplier of .5, rather than 1.5, or 2.0, if applicable.

Relying on Marin, supra, 169 Cal.App.4th 804, 87 Cal.Rptr.3d 161, plaintiff argued in his opposition that the formula stated in the DLSE Manual sections 49.2.4.2 and 49.2.4.3 applied. The DLSE Manual formula is as follows:

1. Multiply regular hours by the employee's hourly rate (regular pay)
2. Multiply overtime hours by the employee's hourly rate (overtime pay on overtime hours)
3. Divide flat sum bonus by regular hours (overtime rate), and multiply by 1.5 (overtime pay on bonus)
4. Add pay for regular hours, bonus, overtime pay on overtime hours, overtime pay on bonus (total pay).

After reviewing the parties' briefs and listening to oral argument, the trial court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment on the following grounds: The facts were undisputed; there was no California law applicable to calculating overtime on bonuses paid in the same pay period in which they were earned; Marin *307is inapplicable; DLSE Manual sections 49.2.4.2 and 49.2.4.3 do not have force of law and are void regulations; in the absence of controlling California law, federal law directing the method of computing overtime on bonuses must be followed; defendant used this federal formula, which was lawful; and therefore there was no basis for liability on any of plaintiff's causes of action. *1207III

STANDARD OF REVIEW

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Bluebook (online)
197 Cal. Rptr. 3d 304, 243 Cal. App. 4th 1200, 25 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1730, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1730, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 26, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alvarado-v-dart-container-corp-of-cal-calctapp4d-2016.