In a recent opinion in Hill v. Walmart Inc., the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of Walmart on Hill’s claim for waiting time penalties under Labor Code section 203, finding there was a good-faith dispute about whether Hill was properly classified as an independent contractor of Walmart.
Hill provided modeling services to Walmart for a total of 15 non-consecutive days in 2016 and 2017. Walmart contracted with Hill’s agency and paid the agency a flat rate for Hill’s services. During the photoshoots, Walmart provided Hill with clothing and told her how to pose. Hill paid for her own travel and deducted her business expenses from her taxes. Hill did not receive a W-2 from Walmart or sign any employment-related documents.
In 2019, Hill sued Walmart alleging it had not paid her all wages upon “discharge,” or at the end of each shoot, and she therefore claimed Walmart owed her waiting time penalties under Labor Code section 203. The district court granted summary judgment in Walmart’s favor, finding there was a good-faith dispute as to whether Hill was an employee of Walmart.
On appeal, Hill argued that Walmart could not rely on the good-faith dispute defense because it requires “a good faith dispute that any wages are due” and Walmart did not dispute that some wages were due. Rather, Walmart only disputed when those wages were due. The Ninth Circuit rejected this argument and noted “wages” are specifically defined as “all amounts for labor...
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