SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Supreme Court limited the reach of California’s cornerstone employee-protection law on Wednesday – but action by the state legislature could soften the blow.
The court ruled 8-1 that the Private Attorneys General Act, or PAGA, which allows employees to sue their employers on behalf of the state, is superceded by a federal law that requires such private disputes to be settled through arbitration.
California workers often utilize PAGA to win wage-theft cases, and labor advocates call the court’s decision a serious blow.
