2016
Jul. 20, 2016
Labor & Employment
PAGA remained omnipresent in employment law this year. A record number of new lawsuits invoked the Private Attorney General Act of 2004 as employees pushed for civil penalties and to escape employers’ binding arbitration clauses. Even the most closely watched dispute of the year — the employees’ misclassification lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. — became partly a referendum on PAGA. A clause in Uber’s arbitration contract regarding PAGA prompted U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen in December to void the entire agreement. This month, Chen ordered more information about Uber’s $100 million settlement with California and Massachusetts drivers. Chen said he couldn’t understand how the parties came up with $1 million in PAGA penalties when $1 billion was the original estimate. Meanwhile, the case that spurred the onslaught of PAGA claims, Iskanian v. CLS Transportation, was abruptly dismissed in June at the request of the named plaintiff. After 10 years in the courts, lawyers eagerly anticipating the result were left without a resolution to the claim that started it all. In this special issue, we honor some of the California lawyers involved in these and other cutting-edge employment and labor cases. They are brilliant, strategic and, most of all, agile, as they navigate a fast-moving and ever-changing legal landscape. Compiling this list, we often marveled at the performances of these lawyers. As you read through this issue, we think you’ll be impressed, too.