Employment Law Committee Presents: Three-Part PAGA Roundtable Series

4/27/2022- Part II: PAGA Settlement Strategy

• Information and documents needed to settle a PAGA claim:
• Payroll records
• Time worked records
• Punitive class member declarations and related information
• Nuanced Issues
• Extent / scope of Release
• Allocation to the LWDA for PAGA penalties
• Reversion of settlement monies or payment to charity
• Escalator Clauses
• Enhancement to the named plaintiffs
• Taxes
• Handling Objectors
• Tips to increase chances of court approval of conditional class and/or PAGA settlement

5/4/2022- Part III: Trying and Litigating PAGA Cases

• Potential dispositive motions (motions to dismiss and MSJ) – Defendant believes that resolution of these threshold legal issues will moot any limitations of vicarious liability;
• Plaintiff’s wage statement claim barred by California precedent precluding penalties for
  derivative wage statement violations;
• Plaintiff’s PAGA representative claims are barred by the manageability prerequisite under
  Williams v. Superior Court, 3 Cal. 5th 531, 559 (2017);
• The federal Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 requires only that employers compensate employees
  for activities indispensable to job performance; accordingly, certain preliminary activities are
  barred from compensation;
• LMRA Section 301 preemption where the court must interpret and apply a collective
  bargaining agreement to adjudicate Plaintiff’s wage-hour claims; and
• Other potential defenses?
• Obtaining and using representative evidence at trial;
• Challenging “manageability” and Plaintiff’s proposed trial plan;
• Potential due process objections, e.g., “off-the-clock” claims (and preserving issues for appeal);
• Other appropriate objections and MILs to preserve issues for appellate review;
• Bench trial of PAGA claim, but jury for class claims;
• Trial court’s considerable discretion to reduce PAGA penalties; and effective trial strategies

12pm - 1:15pm

1.25 MCLE Per Session

Member Pricing:
$75.00 per session
$199 for all three in series

Non-Member Pricing:
$100.00 per session
$224.00 for all three sessions in series

Presenters:
Laura McHugh, Esq. - Senior Partner - Duggan McHugh

Laura McHugh has represented companies of all sizes in employment and labor law matters for over 25 years. In 2018, she partnered with Jennifer Duggan to further the success of their women-owned Sacramento law firm.

Specializing in employment law and litigation, Laura has skillfully handled a variety of employment disputes and tried several cases, including individual and class actions. She has argued before the California Supreme Court and Third District Court of Appeal, obtaining precedential, published decisions.

Tyler Paetkau, Esq. - Partner - Procopio

Tyler Paetkau defends employers against claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, defamation, wage and hour violations, unpaid commissions, collective and class actions, and unfair labor practice charges. He also represents employers in litigation involving unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and employee mobility issues. Tyler has extensive experience representing employers in union-management labor relations matters, including union organizing campaigns, strikes, and collective bargaining negotiations.

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