Costs, Employment: Employee Assessed With Routine Costs For Not Prevailing On Labor Code Violations, Intertwined With Other Claims, Obtained Reversal As A Matter Of Law Where Employee’s Case Was Not Brought In Bad Faith

Where Wage Claims Are Not Brought In Bad Faith, Intertwined Claims Do Not Give Rise To Costs Exposure.

            In Schwade v. South Pasadena Rehabilitation Center, LLC, Case No. B318644 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Dec. 5, 2023) (unpublished), employee lost a wage/hour claim lawsuit, although involving intertwined claims, on a summary judgment.  The lower court assessed routine costs against employee to the tune of $11,937.63 even after finding that (1) employee’s wage hour claims were not brought in bad faith, and (2) the ancillary claims were intertwined with the wage hour claims.

            The appellate court reversed as a matter of law, based on the lower court’s findings.  The reversal was driven by case law indicating that a plaintiff employee should not be assessed with these costs unless bad faith is determined on intertwined wage hour claims, case law/Labor Code provisions prevailing over general cost shifting statutes of a more general nature.  (Dane Elec. Corp., USA v. Bodokh, 33 Cal.App.5^th 761, 774-775 (2019).)