Ninth Circuit Rules That For California Employees Working Under a CBA, California's Overtime Law

In the matter of Curtis v. Irwin Industries, Inc., 2019 S.O.S. 16-56515, the Ninth Circuit recently held that the employee's claim for overtime pay was preempted under section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), because California overtime law may not apply to employees working under a qualifying collective bargaining agreement. In Curtis v. Irwin, Carl Curtis (Curtis) brought a putative class action lawsuit against his former employer, Irwin Industries (Irwin), alleging that Irwin denied him overtime pay, failed to give him meal and rest periods, and failed to pay him minimum wage for the 12 hours he was off duty. In its ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that Curtis’ claim for overtime pay is preempted under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185, because California overtime law does not apply to an employee working under a qualifying collective bargaining agreement if certain conditions are met (see, Cal. Lab. Code § 514), and Curtis worked under such an agreement. The Ninth Circuit went on to remand Curtis’ remaining claims to the district court to address in the first instance.

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