News & Analysis as of

CA Supreme Court Employer Liability Issues

Jackson Lewis P.C.

California Supreme Court Cases Employers Should Watch in 2026

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Several employment-related cases are currently pending before the California Supreme Court, and their outcomes could have a significant impact on workplace policies and risk management for employers and HR professionals....more

Fisher Phillips

Looking Ahead to Leeper: California Supreme Court to Address “Headless” PAGA Claims

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Even with the statutory clarifications that came along with last year’s PAGA reforms, California courts continue to wrestle with one of the thorniest aspects of the law: whether plaintiffs can maintain particularly troubling...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

PAGA Paraphrased – Galarsa v. Dolgen California, LLC

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The Fifth District Court of Appeal reaffirmed its earlier holding in CRST Expedited, Inc. v. Superior Court that plaintiffs can bring “headless” PAGA actions—claims seeking civil penalties solely for Labor Code violations...more

Lewitt Hackman

Good Faith Requires Action: The New Standard for Employer Defense

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As defense attorneys, we often encounter matters where an employer’s good-faith mistake gives rise to wage and hour litigation. While ignorance of the law generally provides no defense, a good-faith mistake, historically...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Leeper v. Shipt: Will California Hamper Arbitration in PAGA Employment Lawsuits?

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In Leeper v. Shipt, the California Supreme Court will revisit the ongoing question of whether, and to what extent, employees can pursue litigation in court for violation of the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA),...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

California Supreme Court raises bar for employers: “We didn’t know” is no defense

In a unanimous decision that strengthened California’s already robust worker protections laws, the state’s Supreme Court has made it harder for employers to avoid increased damages for minimum wage violations. The ruling in...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Supreme Court of California Rules Employers Can’t Claim Ignorance on State Wage Violations

On August 21, 2025, the Supreme Court of California ruled that employers must demonstrate that they took reasonable steps to comply with minimum wage laws to mount a good-faith defense against liquidated damages. The decision...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Minimum Wage Good Faith Defense and Labor Commissioner Appeal Scope

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The California Supreme Court held that an employer must prove that it made a reasonable attempt to decipher the requirements of the law governing minimum wages in order to avail itself of the good faith defense against...more

Jenner & Block

Client Alert: Employers Beware: Employees Are Seeking Damages for Unenforceable Noncompetes

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We have seen a rise in employees going on the offensive and suing their former employers for damages for not informing them that their noncompete is invalid under the applicable state law or for exaggerating the scope of a...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

California Supreme Court Clarifies Cost Shifting Under CCP Section 998

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The California Supreme Court has clarified how the cost-shifting provisions of California Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 (“Section 998”) may apply when a case settles before trial. In a recent decision, Madrigal v....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

California Supreme Court Cases Employers Should Watch in 2025

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The California Supreme Court issued several important decisions in 2024 about issues such as the application of PAGA to public employees and the definition of “hours worked.” Several cases are pending before the state’s high...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Stricter Controls Over Wage Statement Penalty Awards Are a Gift For Some

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California law has long held that an employer’s good faith dispute over wages owed, if any, to its employees will preclude the imposition of “waiting time” penalties otherwise due following the termination of their...more

Esquire Deposition Solutions, LLC

How Many Depositions Are Enough?

Ten is the presumptive upper limit on the number of depositions that each party may take in civil litigation in the federal courts. This number, provided by Rule 30(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, can be...more

BakerHostetler

It’s Settled: A PAGA Plaintiff Has No Right to Intervene, Vacate or Object to Another PAGA Plaintiff’s Settlement, Affirms the...

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In a welcome win for employers, the California Supreme Court recently blocked a PAGA plaintiff’s attempt to intervene and object to another PAGA plaintiff’s proposed settlement as a matter of right, in Turrieta v. Lyft, Inc.,...more

Fisher Phillips

California Supreme Court Rules Public Employers Are Exempt from PAGA: What Employers Need to Know + 4 Practical Tips

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The California Supreme Court just ruled that public employers are not subject to civil penalties under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA). In a pivotal decision, the court held that public entities,...more

Fisher Phillips

California Supreme Court Hands Employers Rare PAGA Win by Limiting Powers of Additional Non-Party Plaintiffs

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The California Supreme Court just held that a plaintiff in one PAGA action does not have the right to intervene or object to a judgment in a similar action even if a settlement or other resolution in that similar case results...more

Epstein Becker & Green

California Supreme Court Concludes That PAGA Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Intervene in Other PAGA Lawsuits

On August 1, 2024, in Turrieta v. Lyft et al., the California Supreme Court held that a plaintiff in a Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) action does not have a right to intervene -- or to object to or vacate a judgment...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Single Use of Racial Slur May Constitute Harassment

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court ruled that an isolated, one-time, use of a racial slur may be so severe—when viewed in relation to the totality of the circumstances—as to alter the conditions of employment,...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Standard Contract Waiver Analysis Applies to Arbitration Agreements

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court reaffirmed that arbitration agreements are on equal footing with other types of contracts. Therefore, a court should apply the same principles that apply to other contracts...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

A New Chapter in California’s Ongoing PAGA is Lava Saga: PAGA Reform

Aggrieved employee is any person who was employed by the alleged violator and against whom one or more of the alleged violations was committed. An “aggrieved employee” is any person who was employed by the alleged violator...more

Weintraub Tobin

California Employment News: Can Pre- and Post-Shift Activities Be Compensated (Podcast)

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Meagan Bainbridge and Lukas Clary from Weintraub Tobin's Labor and Employment Group dive into the California Supreme Court case Huerta vs. CSI Electrical Contractors. Discover the key takeaways for employers on compensable...more

Weintraub Tobin

California Employment News: Can Pre- and Post-Shift Activities Be Compensated

Weintraub Tobin on

Meagan Bainbridge and Lukas Clary from Weintraub Tobin's Labor and Employment Group dive into the California Supreme Court case Huerta vs. CSI Electrical Contractors. Discover the key takeaways for employers on compensable...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

California Supreme Court Ruling Gives Guidance on Compensable Time Under California ‎Law

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On March 25, 2024, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Huerta v. CSI Electrical Contractors. This ruling provides important guidance as to what does and does not constitute sufficient employer control to make...more

Morgan Lewis

California Supreme Court Confirms There is a Good Faith Defense to Wage Statement Penalties

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The California Supreme Court recently issued its opinion in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services Inc., resolving a split of authority in California state and federal courts whether there is a “good faith” defense to claims...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Supreme Court Confirms the “Knowing and Intentional” Standard of California’s Wage Statement Law Requires a “Knowing...

In Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, the case’s second appearance before the California Supreme Court in two years, the Supreme Court confirmed that an employer does not incur civil penalties for failing to report unpaid...more

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