Stone v. Alameda Health System

Opinion of the Court by Corrigan, J.

This case concerns whether a hospital authority created by a county Board of Supervisors and authorized by the Legislature to manage the county’s public health facilities may be held liable for wage and hour violations and civil penalties under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (Lab. Code, § 2698 et seq.; PAGA). 1 We conclude the Legislature intended to exempt public employers such as the hospital authority from Labor Code provisions governing meal and rest breaks (§§ 226.7, 512) and related statutes governing the full and timely payment of wages (see § 220, subd. (b)).2 We further conclude public entities are not subject to PAGA penalties for the violations alleged here. Because the Court of Appeal reached different conclusions, we reverse its judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

All California counties have a mandatory duty to provide medical care for their indigent residents. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 17000; Hunt v. Superior Court (1999) 21 Cal.4th 984, 991; County of San Diego v. State of California (1997) 15 Cal.4th 68,

1 All statutory references are to the Labor Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 As we will discuss (post, at pp.…