Lujan

Summary judgment was granted in favor of respondent, Labor Commissioner of the State of California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, in an action against Southern California Gas Company (hereinafter referred to as Employer). The trial court found that application of a collective bargaining agreement between Employer and its meter readers resulted in certain of the meter readers being paid less than required for overtime pay pursuant to a California labor regulation, Wage Order No. 4-89. Judgment was entered against Employer in an amount stipulated by the parties.

Three determinations were essential to the trial court’s resolution of the case: (1) that federal law did not preempt application of state law; (2) that it should defer to respondent’s method of calculating the equivalent hourly “regular pay” to determine whether the collective bargaining agreement was at odds with Wage Order No. 4-89, subdivision 3(A); and (3) that the collective bargaining exemption within Wage Order No. 4-89, subdivision 3(G), was not applicable.

We conclude that the trial court did not err on the issue of preemption or in deferring to respondent’s…