Jaimez

—Appellant Alex Jaimez (Jaimez), a former route sales representative (RSR) for respondent DAIOHS USA, Inc., doing business as DAIOHS First Choice Services (First Choice), appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion for class certification (the certification motion) and his subsequent motion for leave to amend complaint to substitute new class representatives (the motion to amend). In the complaint and certification motion, Jaimez alleged that First Choice applied a uniform policy and practice to its employees that (1) deliberately misclassified employees as “exempt” (to avoid paying overtime); (2) failed to provide employees with meal and rest break periods (and failed to pay the additional compensation required by California law); and (3) failed to provide legally compliant pay stubs.

On appeal, Jaimez contends the trial court abused its discretion in concluding that his claims were not typical, that common issues of law or fact did not predominate, and that Jaimez was not an adequate class representative; Jaimez asserts that the order should be reversed accordingly. We agree that the order should be reversed, albeit for the court’s reliance on improper criteria in…