The Splitting Issue Is Also Pending Before The California Supreme Court. Splitting log, tie-cutting camp, Pie Town, New Mexico. Russell Lee, photographer. June 1940. Library of Congress. There are still Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) issues that need to be definitively resolved. One such issue is the subject of Zakaryan v. The […]
Case Contains Rich Discussion Of Arbitration, PAGA, Federal Preemption, And Divergence Of State And Federal Law. Plaintiffs sued their former employer, alleging wage and hour violations and seeking civil penalties under California's Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (PAGA). Employer successfully petitioned to arbitrate, with one exception: the trial court held that under Iskanian v. […]
Issues Covered Include Class Action, Unconscionability, Powers Of Arbitrator, Enforcement, Non-Signatories, PAGA, Severability, Costs. Martinez v. Ready Pac Produce, Inc., B279225 (2/3 11/20/18) (Lavin, Egerton, Dhanidina) (Unpublished): Waiver Of Class Action Meant Employee Could Not Participate In Pending Class Action. The Court of Appeal reverses order denying employer Read Pac's motion to compel […]
Different Handbook Versions Seen As Negligent Or, At Worse, Deceptive. This case involved interesting PAGA waiver and severability issues under a very specific factual setting fraught with confusion. The situation went this way: Employer, during the employment of plaintiff hourly employee in Ventura, adopted a policy requiring arbitration of legal claims arising from […]
Civil Penalties Or Victim Specific Statutory Damages? Lawson v. ZB, N.A. et al., and ZB, N.A., et al. v. Superior Court of San Diego, D071279 & D071376 (4/1 12/19/17) (Benke, Huffman, Haller), is the latest skirmish in the ongoing battle waged between employers and employees over whether Private Attorney General Act of 2004 […]
Employer Ross Stores, Inc. Had Argued That Law Of The Case Required Trial Judge To Order PAGA Claim To Arbitration. In Ross Stores, Inc. v. Superior Court (Rachel Goss, Real Party), A150039 (1/1 12/11/17) (Banke, Margulies, Dondero) (unpublished), the Court of Appeal addressed circumstances in which it had earlier required the arbitrability of […]
When Is An Agreement To Arbitrate A PAGA Claim Predispute Or Postdispute? Let me begin with what I believe is the punchline of our next case: "[T]he classification of an agreement as 'predispute' or 'post dispute' must be made by reference to the point at which an individual employee acquires the status of […]
Under What Circumstances Could Predispute Arbitration Agreements Properly Subject PAGA Claims To Arbitration? The arbitrability of PAGA claims continues to generate court opinions. In Christman v. Apple American Group II, LLC, B271937 (2/4 10/4/17) (Manella, Epstein, Collins) (unpublished), the Court notes that Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal.4th 348 […]
Employers Strive To Close The PAGA Representative Action Escape Hatch From FAA Preemption And Arbitration. Ever since the California Supreme Court held in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal.4th 348 (2014) that Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) representative actions are not subject to arbitration, employers preferring arbitration have struggled […]
The Employee Brought A Single Cause Of Action For PAGA Violations. At first blush, Betancourt v. Prudential Overall Supply, E064326 (4/2 March 3, 2017) (Miller, Ramirez, McKinster), another opinion holding that PAGA claims cannot be arbitrated (more about the holding), is unremarkable. However, there are interesting points in the case that help explain why it […]