Dimon

INTRODUCTION

In this lawsuit, a deputy probation officer employed by the County of Los Angeles (the County) alleges that the County has violated various provisions of the Labor Code, as well as wage orders promulgated by the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC), by failing to provide deputy probation officers with meal periods and by failing to pay for the missed meal periods. The County demurred to the complaint contending that, as a charter county, it has exclusive authority to provide for the compensation and conditions of employment of its employees. In particular, the County noted that it had regulated compensation and employment conditions through a collective bargaining agreement which, among other things, contained an express provision governing meal periods for deputy probation officers. The trial court sustained the County’s demurrer without leave to amend.

We affirm. As contended by the County (and as concluded by the trial court), the County has exclusive authority, as a charter county, to provide for the compensation and conditions of employment of its employees, and has done so with respect to probation officers through a collective bargaining agreement…