EDWARD J. DAVILA, District Judge.
Presently before the Court are Defendant United Rentals' ("Defendant") Motion to Stay and Motion for Summary Judgment on Plaintiff Daniel Ramirez's ("Plaintiff") Amended Complaint ("AC"). Docket Item Nos. 86, 96.
Plaintiff filed a putative class action on September 28, 2010, alleging that Defendant failed to provide him with duty-free meal and rest breaks or compensate him for missed breaks as proscribed by California's meal and rest break laws. Docket Item No. 1, Ex. A. Plaintiff's complaint sets forth seven causes of action: (1) unpaid overtime in violation of Cal. Lab. Code § 510(a); (2) failure to pay minimum wage pursuant to Cal. Lab. Code §§ 1182.12, 1194, 1194.2, 1197; (3) failure to pay all wages upon separation per Cal. Lab. Code §§ 201
Class certification was denied in 2013 (Docket Item No. 61) and Defendant filed the present Motion for Summary Judgment on March 25, 2014 (Dkt. No. 86). Defendant argues that Plaintiff's claims must be dismissed because he cannot allege violations of California's labor laws. Defendant claims that because it is a motor carrier governed by the Department of Transportation ("DOT") and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") Regulations, Plaintiff's Hours of Service ("HOS") were regulated by the DOT and fall within the Motor Carrier Exemption to California's Industrial Welfare Commission Order 9-2001 Regulating the Wages, Hours and Working Conditions in the Transportation Industry ("Wage Order 9"), 8 Cal. Code Regs. § 11090(3)(L). Defendant further argues that Plaintiff's claims predicated on California's meal and rest break laws are preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 ("FAAAA").
For its argument concerning preemption under the FAAAA, Defendant heavily relies on the decision issued in
As such, the Court now turns to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. A motion for summary judgment should be granted if "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a);
If the moving party meets this initial burden, the burden then shifts to the non-moving party to go beyond the pleadings and designate specific materials in the record to show that there is a genuinely disputed fact. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c);
Plaintiff does not oppose summary judgment as it relates to his first and seventh causes of action. As such, summary judgment is GRANTED in favor of Defendant as to Plaintiff's first cause of action for unpaid overtime in violation of California Labor Code § 510(a) and seventh cause of action for unjust enrichment.
Defendant contends that Plaintiff's remaining causes of action must fail because California's meal and rest break laws are preempted by the FAAAA. However, the Ninth Circuit recently determined that the FAAAA does not preempt California's meal and rest break laws because those laws are not "related to" prices, routes, or services of motor carriers, as they do not "set prices, mandate or prohibit certain routes, or tell motor carriers what services they may or may not provide, either directly or indirectly."
In conclusion, Defendant's Motion for Stay will be DENIED and the Motion for Summary Judgment will be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.