Savea v. YRC Inc.
Savea v. YRC Inc.
Opinion of the Court
*176Plaintiff Vaiula Savea (Savea), employee of defendant YRC Inc. (YRC), filed a complaint against YRC alleging YRC failed to provide the correct employer name and address on its wage statements as required by Labor Code section 226, subdivision (a)(8).
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Savea has been an employee of YRC since 1998. During his employment, he and other employees received wage statements from YRC that listed the employer name as YRC Freight and the employer address as 10990 Roe Avenue, Overland Park, KS 66211.
In December 2016, Savea filed an online notice with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency alleging YRC's wage statements violated the Labor Code. He sent a copy of the notice to YRC by certified mail.
On February 28, 2017, Savea filed a complaint against YRC "on behalf of himself and as an 'aggrieved employee' " alleging YRC's wage statements "do not accurately show the name of the legal entity that is the employer" and "fail to completely and accurately show the employer's address," in violation of section 226, subdivision (a). Specifically, the wage statements listed the employer name as YRC Freight, while the entity registered with the California Secretary of State was YRC Inc. The wage statements listed the employer address as 10990 Roe Avenue, Overland Park, KS 66211, even though "its complete address" also included a mail stop code and a ZIP+4 Code, as follows: "10990 Roe Ave. MS A515 , Overland Park, KS 66211-1213 ." (Italics added.) Savea sought statutory damages, civil penalties, attorney fees, and costs.
*177On April 27, 2017, YRC demurred to Savea's complaint on the ground that the complaint failed to state a claim because the employer name and address on its wage statements were accurate. YRC explained that YRC Freight is the registered fictitious business name that YRC uses "to transact all regular business in California" and that the listed address is YRC's correct mailing address. YRC argued there is no authority to support the position that a mail stop code or a ZIP+4 Code is required, and noted that the format it used on its wage statements fully comported with the address template for wage statements provided by the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). YRC requested judicial notice of several documents, including DLSE's wage statement template-which does not include a mail stop code or a ZIP+4 Code-and YRC's fictitious business name statement recorded by San Bernardino County.
Savea opposed the demurrer and asserted, among other things, that YRC "did not have a valid fictitious business name in California" "[w]hen the Complaint was filed" on February 28, 2017, because YRC's San Bernardino fictitious business name statement expired on January 13, 2017. In response, YRC filed a supplemental request for the trial court to take judicial notice of a fictitious business statement renewal that was recorded by Sacramento County on November 21, 2016, and had an expiration date of November 21, 2021. YRC argued: "Thus, at the time that Plaintiff's Complaint was filed on February 28, 2017, YRC Freight was-and still is-the legally recognized fictitious business name of Defendant in California."
The trial court issued a tentative ruling granting YRC's requests for judicial notice and sustaining YRC's demurrer to Savea's complaint without leave to amend. The *59court stated: "Based on the allegations and the documents subject to judicial notice, the name and address used in [YRC's] wage statements comply with Labor Code Sect. 226(a)(8)." Noting that the statute "merely requires that the wage statements identify 'the [employer's] name and address,' " the court ruled that YRC's use of a fictitious business name was proper and that there was no authority to support Savea's position that the listed address was inadequate. The court also noted there was no dispute that either the employer name or the employer address created any confusion or other issues. Finally, the court determined that even though YRC "did strictly comply" with the statute, strict compliance is not required, and that if YRC "did not strictly comply ..., it substantially complied by identifying its correct name, and a correct address where it could be reached." After a hearing on the demurrer, the court adopted its tentative ruling as its order and entered judgment in favor of YRC. *178DISCUSSION
1. Wage Statements
Savea contends the trial court erred in sustaining YRC's demurrer because the wage statements did not comply with section 226, subdivision (a)(8). We disagree.
" 'A demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint ....' " ( Golden Gate Hill Development Co., Inc. v. County of Alameda (2015)
Section 226, subdivision (a) requires an employer to provide employees with "an accurate itemized statement" that includes: (1) gross wages earned; (2) total hours worked; (3) certain information for employees paid on a piece-rate basis; (4) all deductions; (5) net wages earned; (6) the pay period; (7) the employee's name and identifying information; (8) "the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer"; and (9) all applicable hourly rates. "An employee suffering injury as a result of a knowing and intentional failure by an employer to comply with subdivision (a) is entitled to recover the greater of all actual damages or fifty dollars ($ 50) for the initial pay period in which a violation occurs and one hundred dollars ($ 100) per employee for each violation in a subsequent pay period, not to exceed an aggregate penalty of four thousand dollars ($ 4,000), and is entitled to an award of costs and reasonable attorney's fees." ( § 226, subd. (e)(1).) Injunctive relief and civil penalties are also available. ( §§ 226, subd. (h), 226.3 ).
"The Legislature enacted section 226 to ensure an employer 'document[s] the basis of the employee compensation payments' to assist the employee in determining *60whether he or she has been compensated properly. [Citations.] Section 226 'play[s] an important role in vindicating [the] fundamental public *179policy' favoring ' " 'full and prompt payment of an employee's earned wages.' " ' [Citation.]" ( Soto v. Motel 6 Operating, L.P. (2016)
Here, YRC Freight was YRC's actual, recorded fictitious business name in California at the time it issued the wage statements of which Savea complains. YRC had a valid fictitious business name statement and renewal recorded in San Bernardino and Sacramento Counties, and YRC Freight was the company name it used "to transact all regular business in California ...." Because YRC properly listed its "name" on its wage statements, there was no violation of section 226, subdivision (a)(8).
Savea argues, without citation to relevant authority, that the use of a fictitious business name on wage statements is improper. The "[u]se of a fictitious business name," however, "does not create a separate legal entity," and there is no "distinction ... between the legal corporation and its fictitious business name." ( Pinkerton's, Inc. v. Superior Court (1996)
York v. Starbucks Corp. (C.D.Cal. Dec. 3, 2009, CV 08-07919 GAF (PJWx) )
Similarly, in Mejia v. Farmland Mutual Insurance Company (E.D.Cal. June 26, 2018, 2:17-cv-00570-TLN-KJN)
Cicairos v. Summit Logistics, Inc. (2005)
Clarke v. First Transit, Inc. (C.D.Cal. Nov. 4, 2010, CV 07-6476 GAF (MANx) )
We further conclude that YRC complied with the requirement of providing the employer address on its wage statements. As noted, section 226, subdivision (a)(8) simply requires the employer to provide its "address," which YRC did by listing its proper mailing address-10990 Roe Avenue, Overland Park, KS 66211. Savea does not dispute that this is the correct mailing address. He also does not dispute that the DLSE wage statement template contains no mail stop code or ZIP+4 Code, and has cited no authority to support his position that these additional items are required. We conclude, as the trial court did, that YRC fully complied with section 226, subdivision (a)(8) by providing its "name and address" in its wage statements.
Finally, we note Savea does not challenge the trial court's decision denying leave to amend, and we find no abuse of discretion. ( Zelig v. County of Los Angeles , supra , 27 Cal.4th at p. 1126,
*1822. Judicial Notice
Savea contends the trial court erred in considering evidence of the Sacramento County renewal filing that YRC presented in a supplemental request for judicial notice. We disagree.
Where "supplemental" evidence submitted for the first time with a reply brief "raise[s] no new theories or arguments," "[i]t [is] well within the court's discretion to consider it." ( Professional Engineers in California Government v. Brown (2014)
Similarly, here, YRC's supplemental request for judicial notice raised no new theories or arguments. Instead, the Sacramento County document merely supplemented its argument that YRC Freight was its proper fictitious business name, and was filed in response to Savea's argument that YRC Freight was not the correct name. When Savea took issue with the trial court's reliance on the Sacramento County document, the court expressly recognized that the document was filed "in response to what [Savea] raised as opposed to raising new issues." We conclude the court did not abuse its discretion in considering the document. (See In re Social Services Payment Cases (2008)
*63DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed. YRC shall recover its costs on appeal.
WE CONCUR:
Siggins, P. J.
Petrou, J.
Retired Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.
All further, undesignated statutory references are to the Labor Code.
YRC argues that even if it did not strictly comply with section 226, subdivision (a), it substantially complied. Savea responds that strict compliance is required. In light of our decision affirming the trial court's determination that YRC "did strictly comply," we need not, and therefore will not, decide whether section 226, subdivision (a) requires "strict" or "substantial" compliance.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.