Ruelas

Opinion of the Court by Evans, J.

Inmates at the Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County work in the kitchen preparing meals for the county jail population and staff under an agreement between the county and a private contractor. They are not paid for their labor. A group of nonconvicted individuals who were performing this labor while detained at the jail sued the county and the private contractor in federal court for failing to pay minimum wage and overtime. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has asked us to decide whether nonconvicted incarcerated individuals working in a county jail for a private company have a claim for minimum wage and overtime under California law. We conclude the answer is no.

I. BACKGROUND

Because this matter arises from an interlocutory appeal of the denial of a motion to dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 12(b)(6) (28 U.S.C.), we recite the facts as alleged in the operative complaint. We treat the factual allegations as true for the purpose of addressing the certified question. (See Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc. (2023) 14 Cal.5th 993, 1004.) Under a contract with defendant Alameda County, defendant Aramark…