Warren

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Defendant is in the business of selling communication products and services to companies, government agencies, and other organizations. Its California operations are divided into units that focus on different segments of the market. Each unit employs TSC2s to generate sales of “wireline telecommunications products and services (such as DSL lines, T1 lines, and telephone lines and systems).” Each TSC2 generally works with one or more account managers who focus on selling business customers wireless and relatively simple wireline products. TSC2s are paid a base salary, plus a commission determined by the sales they generate. Defendant classifies all TSC2s as outside salespersons, a category of employees who are exempt from compliance with the state laws concerning overtime wages and meal break requirements. (Lab. Code, §§ 226.7, subd. (e) & 1171; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 11040, subds. 1(C), 11, 12, hereafter Wage Order 4-2001.) Between January 2005 and February 2010, plaintiff worked as a TSC2 in a unit that focused on small businesses. He filed this action in May 2011, on behalf of himself and other TSC2s. The complaint alleges defendant…