California Court Rejects Motion To Arbitrate PAGA Claim Under State Labor Code

A recent appeals court decision out of California continues the trend of preventing arbitration of claims brought under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). The California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District recently held that employees cannot agree to arbitrate or waive any PAGA claims, including ostensibly-individual claims for unpaid wages under Labor Code Section 558. The court held that “a single PAGA claim seeking to recover section 558 civil penalties may not be ‘split’ between that portion of the claim seeking an ‘amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages’ and that portion of the claim seeking the $50 or $100 per-violation, per-pay-period assessment imposed for each wage violation.”