Flowers v. LA County Metro. Transp. Auth. (CA2/2 B256744, filed 11/25/15, pub. Ord. 12/17/15) Application of Wage Order to MTA Employees
This appeal concerns overlapping provisions of the Labor Code, the Public Utilities Code (PUC), and an Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) wage order governing the wages, hours, and working conditions of transit operators employed by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The issues presented are (1) whether PUC sections 30257 and 30750 exempt the MTA from minimum wage and rest period requirements imposed by the Labor Code and by IWC Order No. 9-2001 (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 11090) (wage order 9), and (2) if the MTA is subject to the provisions of wage order 9, whether the terms of the wage order itself exempt MTA transit operators from the rest period requirements.
The Appellate Court held that PUC sections 30257 and 30750 do not exempt the MTA from rest period and minimum wage requirements, but that the rest period requirements do not apply to the MTA operators who are the putative plaintiffs in this action.
