In the first ruling of its kind, the California Court of Appeal (4th Dist.) recently ruled that a plaintiff may pursue penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) for alleged violations of California’s sick pay statute, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.  Wood v. Kaiser Found. Hosps., 2023 WL 2198664 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 24, 2023).

At issue was the meaning of Labor Code Section 248.5(e), which provides that “any person or entity enforcing this article on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law shall, upon prevailing, be entitled only to equitable, injunctive, or restitutionary relief[.]”  As the Court conceded, every federal district court to consider the issue had held that this provision precluded the recovery of PAGA penalties, because a PAGA plaintiff seeking to enforce the Act does so “on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law.”  Wood, 2023 WL 2198664, at *11.

However, Wood broke with this consensus primarily by parsing the legislative history of the Act.  Describing its role as “that of a detective,” seeking to “uncover what [the Legislature] had in mind,” it embarked on a thorough analysis comparing earlier versions of the bill to the version enacted.  Id. at *3-9.  Its conclusion was that the limitation on remedies was intended to apply only to claims under the Unfair Competition Law (UCL).

It is not hard to imagine this defendant or another employer challenging this reasoning in the California Supreme Court or another Court of Appeal, because there may be a persuasive argument that Wood’s legislative history analysis was unnecessary.  Notably, the statute does not mention the UCL at all.  Rather, it broadly refers to enforcement actions bought “on behalf of the public as provided for under applicable state law.”  Cal. Lab. Code § 248.5(e).  District courts have unanimously concluded that this language unambiguously encompasses PAGA actions.  E.g., Rudolph v. Herc Rentals, Inc., 2021 WL 5994514, at *5-6 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 27, 2021) (explaining that the “key language is clear in its context”).  If the meaning of the text is plain, then there is no opportunity for a court to assume the role of “detective” and dig through the legislative history for a contrary intent.

In the meantime, however, Wood’s holding is binding on California trial courts: a plaintiff may seek PAGA penalties for alleged violations of the sick pay statute.

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Photo of Jonathan Slowik Jonathan Slowik

Jonathan Slowik represents employers in all aspects of litigation, with a particular emphasis in wage and hour class, collective, and representative actions, including those under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). He has defended dozens of class, collective, and representative actions in state…

Jonathan Slowik represents employers in all aspects of litigation, with a particular emphasis in wage and hour class, collective, and representative actions, including those under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). He has defended dozens of class, collective, and representative actions in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout California and beyond. In addition to his core wage and hour work, Jonathan has defended employers in single-plaintiff discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases, and in labor arbitrations. Jonathan also regularly advises clients on a wide range of compliance issues and on employment issues arising in corporate transactions.

Jonathan has deep experience representing clients in the retail and hospitality industries, but has assisted all types of clients, including those in the health care, telecommunications, finance, media, entertainment, professional services, manufacturing, sports, nonprofit, and information technology industries.

Jonathan is a frequent contributor to Proskauer’s California Employment Law Blog and has written extensively about PAGA on various platforms. He has been published or quoted in Law360, the Daily Journal, the California Lawyer, the Northern California Record, and the UCLA Law Review.

Jonathan received his B.A. from the University of Southern California in 2007, magna cum laude, and J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2012, where he was a managing editor of the UCLA Law Review.