PAGA

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As we reported (here), on June 15, 2022, a near unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preempted the California Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal. 4th 348 (2014), which held that actions brought under the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) could not be divided into…

We invite you to review our newly-posted March 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:

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Wood v. Kaiser Found. Hosps., 88 Cal. App. 5th 742 (2023)

Ana Wood brought a PAGA action against her employer Kaiser for alleged failure to correctly pay for three paid sick days as required under California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (the “Act”). The Act provided for compensatory relief and civil penalties, but restricted relief to equitable, injunctive, or restitutionary relief when brought by…

Rocha v. U-Haul Co. of Cal., 88 Cal. App. 5th 65 (2023)

Thomas and Jimmy Rocha alleged FEHA and Labor Code violations against their employer U-Haul. The brothers’ individual PAGA claims were compelled to arbitration where they subsequently lost on all causes of action. The Rochas then moved to vacate the arbitrator’s award, but the trial court confirmed the award and imposed sanctions. The…

Piplack v. In-N-Out Burgers, 2023 WL 2384502 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023)

In-N-Out Burgers appealed from the trial court’s denial of its motion to compel arbitration. The trial court denied the motion because In-N-Out’s arbitration agreement contained an unenforceable PAGA waiver. After the trial court’s ruling, the United States Supreme Court held in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, 142 S. Ct. 1906 (2022)…

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…

Earlier this month, the California Court of Appeal (2d Dist.) ruled that issue preclusion bars a derivative Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim where the plaintiff litigates individual Labor Code claims in arbitration and loses.  Rocha v. U-Haul Co. of Cal., 2023 WL 1462594 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 2, 2023) (certified for publication).  Rocha, while at odds with a prior decision from the…

We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:

…

Lemm v. Ecolab Inc., 2023 WL 21795 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023)

Stephen Lemm, a route sales manager, brought a PAGA action against his employer, Ecolab, Inc., alleging that Ecolab improperly calculated nondiscretionary bonuses. Pursuant to Ecolab’s incentive plan, an employee could receive a higher monthly bonus based on performance as a percent of gross wages. For the purpose of calculating the bonus, gross wages…

Whitlach v. Premier Valley, Inc., 86 Cal. App. 5th 673 (2022)

James Whitlach, a real estate agent, brought a PAGA suit against Premier Valley, Inc. dba Century 21 MM and Century 21 Real Estate, LLC (collectively, “Century 21”). Whitlach alleged that Century 21’s real estate agents were misclassified as independent contractors. The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s holding that Section 650 of…