The complaint alleges claims on behalf of a putative class as well as non-class claims under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”). Since under PAGA the employee is permitted to seek civil penalties for violations not only that he or she suffered, but also violations suffered by other current and former employees, employees have used PAGA as a way to seek settlement for arguably minor violations of the law that when amassed over multiple pay periods for an entire workforce would result in a potential massive penalty. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Driscoll was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara in January 2008 by a group of former Graniterock mixer drivers seeking compensation for missed meal periods, waiting time penalties based on Labor Code section 203, penalties based on Labor Code section 226.7 for inaccurate pay stubs, and penalties based on Labor Code section 2699, the Private Attorneys' General … 5th 1084 (2017) Current and former employees of an ambulance service company sued their employer for unpaid meal and rest periods. The Court Of Appeal Affirms The Award Of Underpaid Wages As Civil Penalties Download Paga Penalties For Meal Period Violations doc. Based on the finding of inaccurate wage statements, the court awarded attorneys’ fees to Naranjo’s counsel. A 10-Step Guide. Where such requisite information is missing from the wage statements, you should strongly consider undertaking the cure option, as there are few viable defenses to such violations. the absence of class certification requirements, a series of statutes codified in Sections 2698 through 2699.6 of the California Labor Code, is limited to one year before the date of filing of the PAGA lawsuit. The California Supreme Court granted review of the appellate court's decision. Code § 2699(d)). With approximately 30,000 violations in the PAGA class, the total penalty was only $150,000. Because a plaintiff bringing a PAGA claim can only seek penalties, a one year statute of limitations applies to these case. The maximum penalty for missed meal breaks and missed rest breaks is two hours of pay per day, no matter how many meal or rest breaks were missed in the day. Depending on the type and extent of the wage and hour violations, some claims should be litigated, while others are better left tabled. Welcome to the Fisher Phillips website. This statutory penalty is referred to as “waiting time penalties.”. Civil penalties under PAGA can be eye-popping. Attorney Advertising. The Act does allow the court to reduce penalties that are “unjust, arbitrary and oppressive, or confiscatory”. Luckily, there is a 10-step process you can take if you receive such a notice to put your organization in the best possible position. An employee may seek civil penalties under PAGA on behalf of themselves and other current or former employees so long as they have suffered at least one alleged Labor Code violation. $1,750 + $87,500 = $89,250 in Total PAGA Penalties. plaintiffs demanded $77 million in PAGA penalties for meal period issues. Your investigation should include review of the employee’s social media accounts, as well as a comprehensive search of social media for advertising referencing the employee or your organization. AB 1506 allows employers to avoid PAGA penalties for paystub violations for wrong legal entity name or address and/or pay period dates. What Should You Do After Receiving A PAGA Notice? Because PAGA actions are generally a product of a copious amount of information that has been amassed by the employee’s counsel prior to providing the PAGA notice, you should also use counterinvestigative strategies, such as encouraging employees to report any outside contact inquiring about working conditions, or wage and hour matters. The court of appeal explained that employers have an obligation to provide a 30-minute, uninterrupted meal break for an employee who works a shift of more than 5 hours. While this case involved employees with on-duty (paid) meal breaks, the court’s holding should also apply to employees who take off-duty (unpaid) meal breaks, and to rest break claims as well. •The Court awarded $70,000 in PAGA penalties to Wal-Mart employees for Wal-Mart’s violation of Cal. Where such requisite information is inaccurate on the wage statements, you should weigh the cost and benefit of the cure option with your counsel. Naranjo sought premium pay for the denied meal breaks, as well as waiting time penalties, itemized wage statement penalties, and attorneys’ fees. Unless an employee is relieved of all duty during their meal period, the meal period is considered an “on-duty” meal period that is counted as hours worked and must be compensated at the employee’s regular rate of pay. At issue for the appellate court was whether employees who are entitled to a meal period premium under Labor Code § 226.7 may also recover derivative penalties under Labor Code § 203 (waiting time penalties) and § 226 (inaccurate wage statements). For more information, contact the author at SLee@fisherphillips.com or (213) 402-9553. Before filing a PAGA action, the aggrieved employee must exhaust specific administrative requirements by filing a written notice “of the specific provisions of [the Labor Code] alleged to have been violated, including the facts and theories to support the alleged violation,” both online with the LWDA and by certified mail to the employer (Cal. Plaintiffs’ attorneys regularly add these claims to cases involving other Labor Code violations, in order to increase the total number of violations and associated penalties, and to be eligible for Labor Code § 226 attorneys’ fees. It also includes an extensive review of key cases including a chapter devoted to … Download Paga Penalties For Meal Period Violations pdf. 5. Labor Code §§ 226.7 and 512 set forth employers’ requirement to “authorize and permit” their non-exempt employees to take meal and rest breaks. The Naranjo decision impacts the interplay of several statutes present in many wage-hour class actions. . In most cases, the employee’s counsel will send you a request for the employee’s personnel file long before any notice is filed with the LWDA. The steadily increasing number can be explained by three characteristics unique to PAGA actions: the absence of class certification requirements, that they are not arbitrable, and cannot be waived. Naranjo alleged that Spectrum failed to provide its security personnel with meal breaks. We hope you will take a moment to get to know us better, learn about what sets us apart from other firms, and review our commitment to providing excellent client service on every matter we handle. The court held that because Labor Code § 226 entitles an employee to penalties and attorneys’ fees if the wage statement omits gross and net “wages earned,” a wage statement that correctly lists the wages earned for on-duty meal breaks does not violate Labor Code § 226, even if it omits unpaid premium pay. For example, use of an employer’s unexpired fictitious business name that is properly recorded in California has recently been validated. We are proud of our tradition of inclusion, and are working to expand upon it. The penalties under PAGA can add up very quickly. In simpler terms, PAGA confers a private right of action to individuals to prosecute Labor Code violations. For example, 10 employees each with 24 pay periods with a meal and rest period violation in each pay period translates to nearly $95,000 of PAGA exposure. In support of this holding, the Court explained that the only PAGA remedy under Section 558 is the civil penalty of either $50 or $100 per pay period. You should review wage statements going back one year from the date of the PAGA notice for compliance with the requirements under Labor Code section 226(a), ensuring they provide: gross wages earned; total hours worked; the number of piece-rate units earned and the applicable piece rate if the employee is paid on a piece-rate basis; all deductions; net wages earned; start and end dates of the pay period; the name of the employee and the last four digits of their social security number or an employee ID number; the name and address of the employing legal entity; and all applicable hourly rates and the corresponding hours worked at each hourly rate. Are employees allowed to leave the premises during meal and rest breaks? Ling v. P.F. 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