The Supreme Court last week ruled 8-1 (Viking River Cruises v. Moriana) that California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)—aka the trial lawyer enrichment act—doesn’t supersede class-action waivers. Now watch unions and trial lawyers turn lemons into lemonade with a recipe from Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Viking employee Angie Moriana agreed when she was hired to arbitrate disputes individually. But after leaving the company she sued Viking under PAGA for failing to provide final wages within 72 hours as required by state law. Ms. Moriana added to her complaint violations allegedly suffered by others.