Woodruff

INTRODUCTION

The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program is a Medi-Cal based public assistance

program that provides domestic, paramedical and personal care services to qualified aged, blind

or disabled persons who cannot safely remain in their own homes without such services (recipients). (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 12300, 12300.1.)1 In San Diego County, the IHSS program

is administered through a public entity (Public Authority). Its governing board is the San Diego

County Board of Supervisors.

Debie Woodruff, Ollie Katrina Baptiste and Miriam St. Germaine2 (collectively,

Appellants) provided in-home supportive services to recipients through Public Authority. They

initiated or joined a class action suit against Public Authority for unpaid wages and overtime

under Labor Code section 1194, claiming that they, and members of their class, had not been paid

for all hours worked and further claiming that they were entitled to hourly wages for time spent

attending an orientation, completing a mandatory background check, and for noncommute work-

related travel time. Appellants posited that they were not paid for all hours worked because

Public Authority retroactively reduced…