On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (Case No. 20-1573) reversing the California Court of Appeal’s decision to affirm the denial of Viking’s motion to compel arbitration Moriana’s “individual” PAGA claim and to dismiss her other PAGA claims.
Continue Reading BREAKING: Supreme Court Reverses California Court of Appeal in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to take a closer look at the enforceability of arbitration agreements that bar representative claims brought under PAGA, a California law that allows individual employees to police labor code violations.
Continue Reading SCOTUS Could Deliver Good News to California Employers Looking to Enforce Class Action Waivers Against PAGA Claims
A California appellate court recently upended a representative PAGA and class action settlement because the named plaintiff did not exhaust administrative remedies under PAGA because he failed to identify each separate theory of liability.
Continue Reading A Cautionary Tale for Employers Who Settle Dueling PAGA Claims
In a huge win for California employers, the California Court of Appeals recently confirmed that courts have discretion to strike claims for penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) if the claims will be unmanageable at trial. This decision will help employers defeat—or significantly pare down—the broad and unwieldy claims for PAGA penalties that have become popular with the plaintiffs’ bar.
Continue Reading Courts Have Authority to Strike Unmanageable PAGA Claims, Says CA Court of Appeals
Over the past six months, the California Supreme Court as well as the State’s appellate courts have published a number of important decisions in the area of California labor and employment law. The California Supreme Court’s decisions published earlier this year in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC (2021) 11 Cal.5th 58 and Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. (2021) 10 Cal.5th 944 were previously covered in Hunton Labor & Employment perspectives.
Continue Reading Mid-Year California Case Law Update
The US Chamber of Commerce, along with two other business-oriented groups, recently filed an amicus brief urging the Ninth Circuit to overrule a $102 million judgment against Wal-Mart.
Continue Reading The US Chamber of Commerce Slams Controversial Hundred Million Dollar Award Against Wal-Mart in Wage Statement Dispute
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated decision in ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court bringing some welcomed good news for California employers.
Continue Reading California Supreme Court Limits Potential Recovery Under PAGA
The arbitrability of wage-and-hour actions brought under the California Private Attorneys General Act is an increasingly important issue due to the growth of PAGA-only actions in California. In that regard, a split has emerged among courts regarding the arbitrability of PAGA claims for unpaid wages under Labor Code Section 558.
Continue Reading A Split of Authority Regarding the Arbitrability of PAGA Claims Is Due For Resolution
Claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) are recently much in vogue. With the proliferation of arbitration agreements and class action waivers, plaintiffs’ attorneys all over California been using PAGA claims – which cannot be waived in an arbitration agreement – as a preferred vehicle to pursue representative wage-and-hour lawsuits against employers.
Continue Reading One-Year Statue of Limitations Strictly Enforced in PAGA Suit
In a recent case, Correia v. NB Baker Electric, Inc., the California Court of Appeal held that employers cannot require employees to arbitrate their representative claims under the California Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”), Labor Code § 2699 et seq., without the State’s consent.
Continue Reading California Appellate Court Says PAGA Claims Can’t Be Compelled To Arbitration Without The State’s Consent