Sheppard v. North Orange County Occupational Program: Minimum Wage Order Covers Public School Employees

Sheppard v. North Orange County Occupational Program (12/23/10) --- Cal.App.4th ----, 2010 WL 5188768, holds that employees of public entities are covered by the minimum wage protections of the Wage Order and may sue their employers for breach of contract when they fail to pay minimum wage. The plaintiff was employed by an entity created by four public school districts. His employer required him to spend 20 minutes of unpaid time preparing for every hour he spent teaching. He sued his employer for violation of the minimum wage law under Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) wage order No. 4-2001 and Labor Code section 218, breach of contract, and quantum meruit. Slip op. at 1. The trial court (OCSC Judge Velasquez) sustained demurrers and granted judgment on the pleadings for the defendant.

The Court of Appeal reversed in part and affirmed in part:

We reverse the trial court’s order granting judgment on the pleadings as to the violation of the minimum wage law claim. Sheppard alleged he was employed by a regional occupational program which was the creation of one or more public school districts through Education Code section 52301. We conclude the minimum wage provision in Wage Order No. 4 2001 applies to Sheppard’s employment with NOCROP. We hold the Legislature has plenary authority over public school districts and was constitutionally authorized to vest in the IWC, through section 1173, the power to impose the minimum wage law provision contained in Wage Order No. 4 2001 as to employees of such public school districts. (For the reasons we explain, this holding is limited to employees of public school districts.) We therefore reverse the trial court’s order granting judgment on the pleadings as to the violation of the minimum wage law claim.

We also reverse the order sustaining NOCROP’s demurrer to Sheppard’s breach of contract claim. California Supreme Court precedent establishes that a public employee has a contractual right to earned but unpaid compensation, which is protected by the State Constitution.

We affirm the order sustaining the demurrer to the quantum meruit claim because the Government Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 810 et seq.) bars the assertion of such a claim against a public entity.

Slip op. at 1. The opinion is available here.