Filed 9/26/19 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FOUR GUSTAVO NARANJO et al., B256232 Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC372146) v. SPECTRUM SECURITY SERVICES, INC., Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL and cross-appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, John A. Kronstadt and Barbara M. Scheper, Judges. Affirmed in part and reversed in part with directions. Marsili Rapp, Howard Z. Rosen, Brianna M. Primozic and Jason C. Marsili for Plaintiffs and Appellants. Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger, Dave Carothers and Steven A. Micheli for Defendant and Appellant. INTRODUCTION Named plaintiff and class representative Gustavo Naranjo and a certified class of former and current employees took their lawsuit against defendant Spectrum Security Services, Inc. (Spectrum) to trial. They alleged Labor Code section 226.71 meal break violations and sought premium wages, derivative remedies pursuant to sections 203 (waiting time penalties) and 226 (itemized wage statement penalties), and attorney fees. The results were mixed, and both sides appeal. We hold: (1) at-will, on-call, hourly, nonexempt employees who are paid for on-duty meal periods are also entitled to premium wages if the employer does not have a written agreement that includes an on- duty meal period revocation clause (§ 226.7); (2) unpaid premium wages for meal break violations accrue prejudgment interest at seven percent; (3) unpaid premium wages for meal break violations do not entitle employees to additional remedies pursuant to sections 203 and 226 if their pay or pay statements during the course of the violations include the wages earned for on-duty meal breaks, but not the unpaid premium wages; (4) without section 226 penalties, attorney fees pursuant to section 226, subdivision (e) may not be awarded; and (5) the trial court prejudicially erred in denying certification of a rest break class. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Spectrum contracts exclusively with federal agencies. Its officers take temporary custody of federal prisoners and ICE (Immigration and 1 All undesignated statutory citations refer to the Labor Code. 2 Customs Enforcement) detainees who must travel offsite for medical treatment or other appointments, and they provide continuous supervision until the individuals are returned to their custodial locations. Spectrum officers also guard witnesses awaiting court appearances. In Spectrum parlance, the individuals they transport and guard are referred to as “posts”; i.e., a post is a person, not a location. Spectrum’s officers are at-will, on-call, hourly, nonexempt employees. Spectrum’s company policy has always required on-duty meal periods, for which the employees are paid at their regular rate. Although Spectrum typically assigns two officers or an officer and supervisor to each post, Spectrum officers cannot leave the room or building where their post is located. On occasion, they can coordinate with other Spectrum officers and go nearby to eat or pick up food for themselves and colleagues, but they must remain on-call and within radio range. For the relevant time period before October 1, 2007, Spectrum had two different employee manuals. The first was ...
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