Bartoni

Current and former employees of an ambulance service company sued their employer, alleging that its meal and rest period policies violate California law. Their complaint alleges claims on behalf of a proposed class as well as non-class claims concerning those same meal and rest period policies under Labor Code section 2698 et seq., the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA).

Before us is plaintiffs' appeal of the trial court's denial of their motion for class certification. The appeal raises two issues. First, is the order denying class certification appealable under the "death knell" doctrine, where plaintiffs' PAGA claims remain pending? Second, did the trial court err in denying class certification? We will exercise our discretion to treat the appeal as a writ petition, and therefore we need not decide the first question. We conclude that the trial court's denial of class certification rests in part on an incorrect legal assumption about the nature of rest periods, and therefore we will remand part of the matter for further consideration.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Defendant American Medical Response West (AMR) provides ambulance services in more than 15…