Section 218.5 Of Article 1. General Occupations From California Labor Code >> Division 2. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.
218.5
. (a) In any action brought for the nonpayment of wages,
fringe benefits, or health and welfare or pension fund contributions,
the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the
prevailing party if any party to the action requests attorney's fees
and costs upon the initiation of the action. However, if the
prevailing party in the court action is not an employee, attorney's
fees and costs shall be awarded pursuant to this section only if the
court finds that the employee brought the court action in bad faith.
This section shall not apply to an action brought by the Labor
Commissioner. This section shall not apply to a surety issuing a bond
pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3
of the Business and Professions Code or to an action to enforce a
mechanics lien brought under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 8400)
of Title 2 of Part 6 of Division 4 of the Civil Code.
(b) This section does not apply to any cause of action for which
attorney's fees are recoverable under Section 1194.