PAGA Claims and Arbitration: Second District Rules that Courts May Not Split a Solitary PAGA Claim
The Second District Court of Appeal held yesterday that if an employee brings a solitary Private Attorneys General Act claim, a court cannot send the employee to arbitrate his individual damage claim and retain jurisdiction to award the additional, statutorily prescribed amounts. (See, Zakaryan v. The Men's Warehouse, Inc. - filed March 28, 2019, Second District, Div. - 2019 S.O.S. 1499.) In its ruling, the Zakaryan court reinforced the fact that the Labor Code Private Attorn
An Agreement to Arbitrate Applies to Discrimination Claims and May Be Applied Retroactively
This week, the California Court of Appeal - Second District - held that an agreement to arbitrate "any claim, dispute, and/or controversy" that an employee may have against her/his employer is applicable to the employee's claim of discrimination. The Court of Appeal further determined that the arbitration agreement may be applied retroactively to transactions which occurred prior to execution of the arbitration agreement. (See, Salgado v. Carrows Restaurants Inc. - filed Feb.
Title VII and the Religious Organization Exemption
Last week, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the Salvation Army, the defendant in an employment discrimination action under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court held that Title VII’s religious organization exemption is not jurisdictional and is subject to procedural forfeiture. Absent prejudice resulting from the Salvation Army’s failure to timely raise the defense, however, the religi
Employees May Be Entitled to Reporting Time Pay for Shift Call-Ins
Last month, the California Second District Court of Appeal held that the on-call scheduling may trigger Wage Order 7’s reporting time pay requirements. The Court's explained: "on-call shifts burden employees, who cannot take other jobs, go to school, or make social plans during on-call shifts—but who nonetheless receive no compensation from [their employer] unless they ultimately are called in to work. This is precisely the kind of abuse that reporting time pay was designed t
The Ministerial Exception to the Labor Code May Not Always Apply to Religious Institutions
The Court of Appeal - Second District - has ruled that there are circumstances where the ministerial exception to the California Labor Code does not apply to certain employees at a religious institution, thereby potentially subjecting the religious institution to various provisions of the Labor Code. (See, Su v. Stephen S. Wise Temple - filed March 8, 2019, Second District, Div. Three, 2019 S.O.S. 1139. ) Su v. Stephen S. Wise Temple was brought by plaintiff and appellant La
The California Second District Court of Appeal Issues A Ruling On Who Shares In Awarded PAGA Penalti
The California Second District Court of Appeal recently held that an action to recover civil penalties under PAGA is fundamentally a law enforcement action designed to protect the public and not benefit private parties. Therefore, a penalty under the Labor Code Private Attorney General Act ("PAGA") is to be shared with the state and other affected employees. (See, Moorer v. Noble LA Events Inc. - filed Feb. 11, 2019, publication ordered Feb. 27, 2019, Second District, Div. S
