Kettenring

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD or District) pays adult education teachers a regular periodic amount, identified as a “salary” in the applicable collective bargaining agreement, calculated by multiplying a flat hourly rate for each hour of classroom teaching. LAUSD does not pay for additional time spent outside of classroom instruction for preparation, grading or other tasks in connection with the class. Ernest Kettenring, an adult education teacher in the District, filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the compensation structure violates state minimum wage laws. At the parties’ request, the trial court ruled on “threshold legal issues” based on stipulated facts, and determined that the Labor Code’s minimum wage provisions did not apply to the District. Kettenring then filed a petition for a writ of mandate arguing that the structure as applied to part-time adult education teachers violated the Education Code. The trial court denied the petition. Kettenring appealed.

We conclude that adult education teachers fall within the professional exemption to Industrial Welfare Commission wage order No. 4-2001. We also affirm the court’s conclusion that the…