Marquez

*556 Plaintiffs Wendy Marquez and Jasmine Smith appeal from a judgment of dismissal entered after the trial court sustained without leave to amend the demurrer filed by the City of Long Beach (City) to plaintiffs' class action complaint. Plaintiffs alleged causes of action for violations of the Labor Code and the Industrial Welfare Commission's (IWC) wage orders based on the City's alleged failure to pay workers employed as pages and recreation leader specialists wages at or above the statewide minimum wage.

The trial court found the authority to determine employee compensation was reserved to the City as a charter city under *557 article XI, section 5 of the California Constitution, and the state could not impose a minimum wage for the City's employees because the City's compensation of its employees was not a matter of statewide concern. On appeal, plaintiffs contend the Legislature's interest in the provision of a living wage to all workers is a matter of statewide concern, and the minimum wage requirement is appropriately tailored to address that concern.

This case pits article XI, section 5 of the state Constitution, which grants to charter cities authority over municipal…