Opinion ID: 2630272
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Defendants Apio and Combs.

Text: Plaintiffs contend that defendants Apio and Combs, through their field representatives' activities in the areas of quality control and contract compliance, became joint employers of Munoz's workers by exercis[ing] control over [their] . . . working conditions within the meaning of Wage Order No. 14. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 11140, subd. 2(F).) Plaintiffs devote little attention to the argument, but it deserves discussion. As we have noted, picking and packing strawberries for fresh market sale necessitated close communication during the harvest between defendants and Munoz's personnel. This is because market berries are packed in the field, as they are picked, into the containers in which they will be sold to consumers, often that same day or the next. The contract between Apio and Munoz expressly provided for such activities, and Munoz operated in the same manner with Combs, apparently as a matter of standard practice. (See, ante, at p. 45.) Viewing the facts most favorably to plaintiffs, Apio sent its representatives Juan Toche and Manuel Cardenas to the field on days when Munoz harvested fresh berries from the Oceano and Zenon fields, and Combs sent defendant Juan Ruiz when Munoz harvested berries from El Campo. Apio's and Combs's representatives followed the same procedure: In the morning, the representatives would explain to Munoz and his foremen how the merchant wanted strawberries packed, and Munoz and his foremen would demonstrate the packing style to the workers. For about an hour, the representatives, together with Munoz and his foremen, would check the packed containers as workers brought them from the field to the truck where they would be loaded for shipping. While the representatives would generally bring problems to the attention of Munoz and his foremen, they would also sometimes speak directly to the workers, pointing out mistakes in packing such as green or rotten berries. In the afternoon, the representatives would return briefly to check the quality and quantity of berries in the loaded truck. (15) The question is whether this evidence raises a triable issue of fact as to whether Apio and Combs exercised control over the working conditions of Munoz's employees. As we have explained, one of the reasons the IWC defined employer in terms of exercising control was to reach situations in which multiple entities control different aspects of the employment relationship. This occurs, for example, when one entity (such as a temporary employment agency) hires and pays a worker, and another entity supervises the work. (See, ante, at pp. 59-60.) Supervision of the work, in the specific sense of exercising control over how services are performed, is properly viewed as one of the working conditions mentioned in the wage order. To read the wage order in this way makes it consistent with other areas of the law, in which control over how services are performed is an important, perhaps even the principal, test for the existence of an employment relationship. (See, e.g., Metropolitan Water Dist. v. Superior Court, supra, 32 Cal.4th 491, 512 [common law]; Tieberg v. Unemployment Ins. App. Bd. (1970) 2 Cal.3d 943, 946 [88 Cal.Rptr. 175, 471 P.2d 975] [unemployment insurance]; McFarland v. Voorheis-Trindle Co. (1959) 52 Cal.2d 698, 704 [343 P.2d 923] [workers' compensation].) While the evidence indicates that Apio's and Combs's field representatives spoke with Munoz's employees about the manner in which strawberries were to be packed, it does not indicate the field representatives ever supervised or exercised control over his employees. No evidence suggests Munoz's employees viewed the field representatives as their supervisors or believed they owed their obedience to anyone but Munoz and his foremen. Plaintiffs, relying on cases interpreting other bodies of law, argue the right to exercise control over the manner in which work is performed is sufficient to prove the existence of an employment relationship, whether or not the right is exercised. (E.g., S.G. Borello, supra, 48 Cal.3d 341, 350; Tieberg v. Unemployment Ins. App. Bd., supra, 2 Cal.3d 943, 946.) But even assuming the same rule applies here, Munoz's contracts with Apio and Combs gave the merchants no right to direct his employees' work. Neither does any evidence in the record suggest that anyone Munoz, Apio, Combs, the merchants' field representatives, or plaintiffsbelieved the merchants or their representatives had such a right. Confusion on this point was not likely to arise, since Munoz and his foremen were present when the field representatives interacted with Munoz's employees. For all of these reasons, we conclude the claim lacks merit.