California Labor Code Section 101 - Interpretation

Labor Code section 101 provides that "No court costs of any nature shall be payable by the division, in any civil action to which the division is a party. Any sheriff or marshal requested by the Labor Commissioner or a deputy or representative of the Labor Commissioner shall serve the summons in the action upon any person within the jurisdiction of the sheriff or marshal or levy under a writ of attachment or execution in the action upon the property of any defendant without cost to the division except for keeper's fees, service fees, and storage charges." In Gue v. Superior Court (1934) 1 Cal. App. 2d 91, one of only two reported cases to interpret Labor Code section 101 , concerns the interaction of that statute and Code of Civil Procedure former section 274, which then provided that court reporter fees must be paid equally by the parties. The Court of Appeal found that Labor Code section 101 did not exempt the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) from paying its share of those fees. The court cited the portion of Code of Civil Procedure former section 274 which provided that court reporters "shall not" perform services without a fee, and found that the trial court had no authority to order the court reporter to perform unpaid services. The court further found that the Labor Code section 101 exception for keeper's fees, mileage fees, and storage charges indicated "a recognition by the framers of the statute that certain persons not connected with the courts . . . and not receiving compensation from the public exchequer might, in the accomplishment of certain statutory remedies, be called upon to render service for which they would be entitled to compensation . . . ." ( 1 Cal. App. 2d at pp. 97-98.)