On September 12, 2019, the California Supreme Court ruled that an aggrieved employee bringing a representative action under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) cannot recover unpaid wages. In ZB N.A. v. Superior Court, the plaintiff, Kalethia Lawson, brought a lawsuit alleging a sole cause of action under PAGA. She based her PAGA claim on several underlying allegations of Labor Code violations, including failure to provide overtime and minimum wages, meal and rest periods, timely wage payments, complete and accurate wage statements and payroll records, and reimbursement of business-related expenses. In addition to the civil penalties available under PAGA, Lawson sought unpaid wages and premium wages under Labor Code Section 558. The employer moved to compel arbitration of Lawson’s claim for unpaid wages, arguing that unpaid wages are the kind of “victim-specific relief” that Lawson had agreed to submit to binding arbitration.
