Court clarifies statute of limitations for individual and representative PAGA claims

Employers in California have been inundated with claims filed under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Attorneys are constantly attempting to push the limits of PAGA, especially following the California Legislature’s attempts at reform. In a recent decision favorable to employers, the California Court of Appeals held that an employee cannot abandon his individual PAGA claim to avoid the one-year statute of limitations period by seeking to recover penalties solely on behalf of all current and former putative aggrieved employees.

Background

Corbin Williams worked for Alacrity Solutions Group, LLC from 2014 to January 2022. Over a year after his employment with Alacrity ended, Williams filed a PAGA letter on March 7, 2023, with California’s Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) alleging Alacrity committed various California Labor Code violations during his former employment.

Three days after giving notice to the LWDA, on March 10, 2023, Williams filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, alleging a single claim under PAGA against Alacrity. The complaint alleged that Williams sought penalties under PAGA solely “on behalf of the State of California and other current and former employees.” He didn’t allege that he sought penalties on an individual basis for any purported labor code violations that he personally suffered.