A recent California Court of Appeal decision reaffirms the important right of workers to recover attorney fees when they successfully appeal unfavorable Labor Commissioner decisions. In Villalva v. Bombardier Mass Transit Corporation, the court rejected an employer's attempt to limit workers' ability to recover attorney fees.

Why This Matters to California Workers

If you receive an unfavorable decision from the Labor Commissioner, you have the right to appeal for a new trial in Superior Court. Thanks to this ruling, you can be confident that:

1. Attorneys will be more likely to take your appeal case because they know they can recover their fees if they win
2. You should be able to avoid paying attorney fees out of your recovered wages if you win your appeal with the help of an attorney
3. You can start your wage claim with the free Labor Commissioner process without much worry about losing the ability to find legal help later if you lose and want to appeal it.

What Happened?

Two train dispatchers believed that they were owed unpaid wages. Rather than filing a lawsuit in court at the outset, they chose to instead pursue the so-called Berman Hearing before the California Labor Commissioner. The Berman Hearing is an optional streamlined procedure designed to help employees with wage claims without necessarily needing the assistance of an attorney or dealing with overly complicated legal process. The two dispatchers initially lost their wage claim in the Berman Hearing at the Labor Commissioner level, but they won on appeal in Superior Court. They recovered about $140,000 in unpaid wages and penalties. Their attorneys then requested and were awarded $200,000 in fees and costs by the Superior Court for handling the appeal.

The employer then appealed to the next court level, the California Court of Appeal.  The employer tried to argue that workers who appeal the Berman Hearing decision and win in the Superior Court should not be able to recover attorney fees. In Villalva v. Bombardier Mass Transit Corporation, the Court of Appeal firmly rejected this argument, following the established rule that workers who successfully appeal can recover their attorney fees just like they could if they had filed directly in court.

What This Means for Your Potential Wage Claim

The court's decision preserves an important potential two-step process for recovering unpaid wages:

Step 1: File a claim with the Labor Commissioner (called a "Berman hearing")

• You don't need a lawyer
• The process is informal and designed to be worker-friendly
• You get a decision faster than in court

Step 2: If you lose and believe the decision was wrong, you can appeal to the Superior Court

• You will be more likely be able to find an attorney to help because they may be able recover their fees if you win
• You get a new trial in Superior Court
• You can recover both your unpaid wages and attorney fees if you win

The Bottom Line

This decision means you can confidently start with the Labor Commissioner process, knowing that if you need to appeal, you'll likely be able to find an attorney to help you. The court's ruling helps ensure that attorneys are able to afford to take these appeal cases without requiring employees to pay their fees upfront because the attorneys can be fairly certain they can recover their fees if they win. 

Need Help? 

If you've received an unfavorable Labor Commissioner decision and believe it was wrong, you should consider contacting an employment attorney to evaluate your case and potential success on appeal.