Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court: Who Is An Employer? (Revisited)

In Martinez v. Combs (2010) 49 Cal.4th 35 (discussed here), the California Supreme Court held that the broad, three pronged definition of "employer" found in the IWC Wage Orders applies in minimum wages actions brought under Labor Code section 1194. The question after Martinez was whether the Wage Order definition of "employer" would apply in all wage and hour actions or whether courts would continue to look at the multi-factor test found in cases such as S.G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341.

Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (Lee) (10/15/14) --- Cal.App.4th --- addresses these issues.

The plaintiffs in Dynamex filed a class action, alleging that the defendant violated a range of wage and hour laws by classifying them as independent contractors, rather than employees. The defendant petitioned for a writ of mandate after the trial court denied its motion to decertify the class. It argued that the Borello "right to control" test applied, and that individual issues under that test would predominate over common issues. 

The Court of Appeal granted the petition in part, holding that the Wage Order definition of "employer" applies to those claims that fall within the scope of the Wage Order. Slip op. at 12-16. As to claims that fall outside the scope of the Wage Order, the multi-factor test discussed in Borello applies.

The real question becomes this: How do you know whether a claim falls within the scope of the Wage Order? For minimum wage and overtime claims, the answer seems clear. For other types of claims, such as the Labor Code section 2802 reimbursement claim in Dynamex, not so much. One can only assume that this particular issue will require greater clarification.

The Court also held that use of the Wage Order definition is not limited to determining whether an entity is a joint employer. Slip op. at 16, n. 14. Rather, it applies in any Wage Order claim in which one's employment status is at issue. 

The opinion is available here.