Safeway Wage and Hour Cases
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Former managers of Safeway supermarket stores filed suit seeking unpaid overtime wages, claiming they had been misclassified as exempt executives under regulations applicable to the mercantile industry. A jury found that Safeway had proven that William Cunningham had been an exempt employee and was therefore not entitled to overtime pay. Cunningham challenged the trial court's instruction based on the language in Batze v. Safeway, Inc. (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 440, and Heyen v. Safeway Inc. (2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 795.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's judgment and clarified that a task does not become exempt merely because the manager undertakes it in order to contribute to the smooth functioning of the store. The court held that an instruction on the consideration of the manager’s purpose, where appropriate, must inform the jury of relevant limiting principles outlined in the applicable regulations and recognized by the court's prior decisions. Therefore, the court held that the trial court's instruction did not affect the jury's verdict. The court also held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the contested expert testimony under the circumstances of this case.
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