Deleon

In 2003, Jodi Evenson filed her initial complaint as a class action under the unfair competition law (Bus. Prof. Code, § 17200 ; the UCL). Evenson's operative complaint alleged that Verizon Wireless made chargebacks against the commissions of salespeople in California and thereby violated Labor Code sections 201 , 202 , 203 , 226 , and 1194 , among others. 1 The complaint alleged, "When a customer signs up for wireless service with VERIZON, both the salesperson who made the sale and his or her manager receive a sales commission. However, if the customer's service terminates for any reason within the first 365 days (or within 150 days for a pre-paid account), VERIZON forces the salesperson and the manager to pay back their entire sales commission to VERIZON. This is known as a `chargeback'" or "adjustment." (Original underscoring.) The gravamen of the Evenson complaint was that by virtue of the chargebacks, the plaintiff employees did not receive overtime pay or accurate wage statements. On behalf of two classes of commissioned employees in California, Evenson sought compensatory damages, restitution of wages, injunctive relief, waiting time and other penalties, and interest and…