California Class and PAGA Action

Overview

California’s ever-expanding Labor Code, which is frequently at odds with the Fair Labor Standards Act, presents distinct and complex issues when defending wage and hour class actions. The unique standards for class action discovery and certification for those actions prosecuted in state court add yet another layer of complexity. In addition, the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) has no parallel anywhere else in the country.

PAGA dramatically increased exposure to risk and the number of litigation claims for employers in the state. Effective in 2004, PAGA shifted responsibility for labor code enforcement to private citizens due to limited state government resources. Over the years, a series of court rulings lessened barriers for employees to bring claims. These rulings determined that certification requirements don’t apply to PAGA actions, the right to arbitration can’t be waived by employees to bring a PAGA claim, and that plaintiffs are entitled to significant amounts of information when bringing a claim. Organizations in California need to be especially in-tune with areas where the changing law can expose vulnerabilities and take a proactive approach to avoid costly PAGA claims.

The California Class and PAGA Actions resource group offers a powerful combination of substantive insights into labor and employment law, extensive class and PAGA only action and litigation experience, and deep roots in the state of California. The team of attorneys works with organizations to identify potential issues before they present and expeditiously address them should they arise.

Services

• Evaluation of the merits of the underlying claim(s)
• Assessment of the class issues and likelihood of class certification
• Estimation of the likely discovery issues and costs
• Preparation of damages models and potential exposure analyses
• Consideration of the effect of the litigation on the company’s operations, media issues, and financial and competitive impact