Local 246 Utility Workers Union of America v. Southern California Edison Co.

I.

Two employees, joined by their unions, brought this action against their employer, Southern California Edison Company, alleging that Edison’s method of calculating overtime compensation for partially disabled workers violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (“Act” or “FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-19 . The question at issue is whether certain supplemental payments, designed to bring the wage of a partially disabled worker up to his or her predisability wage level, should be included in the base figure upon which time- and-a-half overtime pay is calculated. For many years, Edison had not included such payments in determining the amount to be .paid for overtime, and until recently the unions had voiced no objection. The district court found that the relevant terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (“Agreement”) and the Comprehensive Disability Plan (“Plan”) were ambiguous. It then ruled that the parties’ longstanding practical construction of the agreements indicated that their intent was not to treat the supplemental payments as part of the regular base wage for purposes of calculating overtime rates. The district court therefore granted Edison’s motion for summary judgment. We…