Procedure for filing appeal of Labor Commissioner ruling to Superior court.

There is an appeal form which is available on the DLSE website. You do not have to file a complaint but you do have to pay the court filing fee, which is currently $435. Plus, if you are the employer, you must post an undertaking, in the amount of the award, with the court when the appeal is filed. You must attach a copy of the Decision to the appeal form and serve a copy of the appeal on the opposing party and the DLSE. The appeal period is very short, just 15 days from the date of it was mailed or 10 days if personally served. And beware, by law, if the appealing party loses the appeal completely, you must pay for the other side's reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

I will just add to what Mr. Kirschbaum said about attorney's fees. If you are the employer and the court awards anything at all to the employee, the employee prevails and you have to pay attorney's fees. Employers should only appeal if they have a good chance of showing that they owe the employee nothing whatsoever.

AS the employee, you do not have to worry about the bond requirement, but you do need to file the appeal form and pay the filing fee. I have to say that on its face, a $150 claim with $4,000 in waiting time penalties seems strange and perhaps suggests you have a misunderstanding of how the law works. However, without knowing your specific situation, all I can say is perhaps you should consult with an attorney before proceeding. It may save you much time and a large part of the filing fee. Good luck to you.