Thomas R. Kaufman

Kaufman is a partner in the labor and employment practice group at Sheppard Mullin. He said in late June that he's coming into the Los Angeles office about three times a week amid the gradual re-opening of commerce in the state.

"I can be a little more focused here," he said. "The dogs don't distract me" as they do at home. "Lots of our associates, however, Covid or not, like working from home. I believe the courts are hoping that more and more appearances--except for trials--can be remote."

Kaufman represents corporations in defense-side wage and hour class actions. Clients include Wells Fargo & Co., Cox Communications Inc., Cox Automotive Inc., AT&T Inc., Pacific Bell Telephone Co. and the University of Southern California.

In three recent cases he has obtained defense summary judgments in certified class actions.

Plaintiffs in one case alleged that AT&T violated the California Labor Code by failing to list hourly rates and hours worked on wage statements when it paid employees an overtime "true-up" on monthly bonuses. Kaufman defeated a class certification motion on a meal and rest time component of the case, but certification was granted on the bonuses issue, followed by Kaufman's successful summary judgment motion. Meza v. Pacific Bell Telephone Co., BCV-15-101572 (Kern Super. Ct., filed Nov. 30, 2015).

Kaufman's winning argument centered around the Labor Code's requirements for hours worked in calculating overtime true-ups. "It was a technical argument, but it saved the client a lot of money," he said, pointing out that a similar situation in a class action targeting Walmart Inc. ended costing the big retailer $100 million. Kaufman obtained class-wide summary judgment despite a contrary ruling in the Northern District. "It was a matter of persuading the judge that Judge [Lucy] Koh up north was wrong," he said.

In two class actions over pay for field technicians who drove company vehicles home at night, Kaufman also won summary judgment motions for his corporate clients. In one, the 3d District Court of Appeals affirmed a Sacramento County Superior Court judge's ruling for AT&T. Kaufman argued that because the decision to participate in a program involving driving company vehicles from home to their first work stop of the day was voluntary, the travel was a non-compensable commute. Hernandez v. Pacific Bell, C084350 (3d DCA, appeal filed March 16, 2017).

The other drive time case reached a similar resolution in favor of a cable TV company's practice of regarding technicians who drove company vehicles home and then to jobs as an unpaid commute. It too was affirmed on appeal. Taylor v. Cox Communications Inc., 18-55053 (9th Cir., op. filed Sept. 5, 2019).

"These decisions have pretty much put an end to claims over driving home in company vehicles," Kaufman said.

-- John Roemer