Employment: Fee Recovery Properly Denied To Employer Under Labor Code Section 218.5 Where No Evidence That Suit Was Frivolously Maintained

Simply Bring Suit Does Not Give Rise To Section 218.5 Fee Recovery Against Unsuccessful Employee.

            Juarez v. Ali, Case No. H041348 (6^th Dist. Jan. 8, 2018) (unpublished) is a situation where a trial court rejected awarding wage/hour claims to a plaintiff, but then denying employer-affiliated defendants’ request for fees under Labor Code section 218.5.  (Plaintiff alleged reporting time wage and kickback allegations.)  The fee denial was affirmed on appeal.  The appellate court reasoned that Labor Code section 218.5 did not apply to maintenance of a wage/hour claim but only applied to bringing a claim in bad faith. It also engaged in a discussion of whether civil rights case law of a different ilk should apply, but decided it should not.