Recent Employment Law Decisions

California Supreme Court

Trial Court Erred by Relying on Privacy Rights to Limit PAGA Representative’s Discovery of Co-Worker Contact Information to Worksite and by Conditioning Renewal of Motion on Showing that Representative’s Wage and Hour Rights Had Been Violated

WILLIAMS v. SUPERIOR COURT

The California Supreme Court held that a party seeking discovery of private information need not always establish a compelling interest or compelling need; disapproving Digital Music News LLC v. Superior Court, 226 Cal.App.4th 216, 171 Cal.Rptr.3d 799, Life Technologies Corp. v. Superior Court, 197 Cal.App.4th 640, 130 Cal.Rptr.3d 80, Binder v. Superior Court, 196 Cal.App.3d 893, 242 Cal.Rptr. 231, Kahn v. Superior Court, 188 Cal.App.3d 752, 233 Cal.Rptr. 662, Moskowitz v. Superior Court, 137 Cal.App.3d 313, 187 Cal.Rptr. 4, Board of Trustees v. Superior Court, 119 Cal.App.3d 516, 174 Cal.Rptr. 160, and Board of Medical Quality Assurance v. Gherardini, 93 Cal.App.3d 669, 156 Cal.Rptr. 55.

“This is a representative action seeking civil penalties on behalf of the State of California and aggrieved employees statewide for alleged wage and hour violations. (See Lab. Code, § 2698 et seq., the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, hereafter PAGA.) In the course of discovery, plaintiff Michael Williams sought contact information for fellow California employees. When the defendant employer, Marshalls of CA, LLC, resisted, Williams filed a motion to compel. The trial court granted the motion as to the store where Williams worked, but denied it as to every other California store, conditioning any renewed motion for discovery on Williams sitting for a deposition and showing some merit to the underlying action. Williams petitioned the Court of Appeal to compel

the trial court to vacate its discovery order. The Court of Appeal denied the writ, and we granted review to consider the scope of discovery available in PAGA actions.

In the absence of privilege, the right to discovery in this state is a broad one, to be construed liberally so that parties may ascertain the strength of their case and at trial the truth may be determined. Our prior decisions and those of the Courts of Appeal firmly establish that in non-PAGA class actions, the contact information of those a plaintiff purports to represent is routinely discoverable as an essential prerequisite to effectively seeking group relief, without any requirement that the plaintiff first show good cause. Nothing in the characteristics of a PAGA suit, essentially a qui tam action filed on behalf of the state to assist it with labor law enforcement, affords a basis for restricting discovery more narrowly. Nor, on this record, do other objections interposed in the trial court support the trial court’s order. We reverse.”

Capstone Law, Glenn A. Danas, Ryan Wu, Robert Drexler, Stan Karas and Liana Carter, Los Angeles, for Petitioner.
Cohelan Khoury & Singer and Michael D. Singer, San Diego, for California Employment Lawyers Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Petitioner.
Cynthia Rice, Oakland, for California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center and National Employment Law Project as Amici Curiae on behalf of Petitioner.
The Turley Law Firm, William Turley, David T. Mara and Jamie Serb, San Diego, for Consumer Attorneys of California as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Petitioner.
No appearance for Respondent.
Littler Mendelson, Robert G. Hulteng, San Francisco, Amy Todd-Gher, Kyle W. Nageotte, San Diego, Joshua J. Cliffe, Emily E. O’Connor, San Francisco, and Scott D. Helsinger for Real Party in Interest.
Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Phil Goldberg, Christopher E. Appel and Patrick Gregory for National Association of Manufacturers, American Coatings Association and NFIB Small Business Legal Center as Amici Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest.
Call & Jensen, Julie R. Trotter, Newport Beach, Jamin S. Soderstrom and Delavan J. Dickson, San Diego, for Retail Litigation Center, Inc., California Retailers Association and California Grocers Association as Amici Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest.
Jackson Lewis, Lisa Barnett Sween, San Francisco, Natalja M. Fulton, Dylan B. Carp and Douglas G.A. Johnston, San Francisco, for Prometheus Real Estate Group, Inc., as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest.
Pahl & McCay, Stephen D. Pahl, Karen Kubala McCay, San Jose, and Julie Bonnel-Rogers, Irvine, for California Apartment Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest.
O’Melveny & Myers, Apalla U. Chopra, Los Angeles, Adam J. Karr, Ryan W. Rutledge, Newport Beach, Andrew Lichtenstein and Christina N. Pacudan, Los Angeles, for The Employers Group as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest.
Haynes and Boone, Mary-Christine Sungaila and Martin M. Ellison, Costa Mesa, for International Association of Defense Counsel as Amici Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest.
Cal., 7/3/17 unanimous opinion by Werdegar; ___ P.3d ___, 3 Cal.5th 531, 2017 WL 2980258, 27 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 687, 17 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6837, 2017 Daily Journal D.A.R. 6879.

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Message from the Chair
By Jean Hyams

I offer warm greetings from Oakland. Looking out my window on this warm summer afternoon, I am watching sailboats, dragon boats and even a gondola ply the waters of Lake Merritt, a sanctuary in the middle of our beautiful, loud and proud, absolutely Oaklandish city. From this same window, I’ve witnessed throngs take to the streets in protest and in celebration. Last November, thousands joined hands around the lake in an almost-spontaneous show of unity following the election.

January brought a hundred thousand into the streets to march for civil rights and democracy as part of the national Women’s March. CELA members around the state marched on that powerful day of solidarity and purpose.

In June, Oakland was the scene of another kind of convergence. They say the crowds numbered in the hundreds of thousands when the city pulled out the stops to celebrate the championship

of the Golden State Warriors. That day was a celebration through and through, bringing together a diversity of people to cheer the realization of a dream, all the while knowing that a moment of victory would give way soon to another season of challenge.

I began writing this message before the white nationalist terrorism in Charlottesville. It was my hope that these reminiscences would help you to feel the vibrancy of this city and create energy and enthusiasm about what we can collectively generate when CELA joins together as a community for CELA’s 30th Annual Conference here in Oakland this October. The past few days have also provided even more examples of how communities of conscience, including Oakland, come together in the fight for social justice. My greatest hope is for CELA to stand together at this time. So now let me add urgency to the call for us to gather together in October. We have important work to do. Let us do it together.

The CELA Education Committee began working after the November election to make sure that this year’s conference would address compelling issues facing workers and the advocates who represent them. From the opening plenary focused on practicing employment law in today’s political climate to the closing plenary titled “United We Stand: Employment Lawyers, Union Lawyers and the Workers Who Need Us All,” the conference is designed to hone our skills and equip us with the tools we need. With the fight against the forces of racism, xenophobia and all other invidious oppression so central to CELA’s mission, I am pleased to announce two inspiring individuals as keynotes for our conference. Friday’s annual luncheon features journalist, writer, lawyer and Muslim rights advocate, Wajahat Ali. A frequent news commentator and former co-host of a news show on Al Jazeera America, Wajahat has been a contributor to The Guardian and the New York Times. Joining us to keynote the Saturday Diversity Outreach Committee luncheon is Emilio Huerta, candidate for California’s 21st Congressional District. Growing up, Emilio witnessed firsthand the organizing leadership of his mother Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, and the United Farm Workers. As a civil rights attorney and long-time CELA member, Emilio has dedicated his career to improving the lives of working men and women.

This year also offers something quite special to celebrate! Amazingly, 2017 heralds our 30th annual conference. And to mark the achievement of three decades of fighting for employee justice, our sister non-profit organization, FAIR (Foundation for Access Inclusion and Resources) is throwing us a birthday party on the Friday night of the Conference that is not to be missed! Please consider becoming a sponsor of what promises to be a wonderful evening. Click here for tickets and sponsorship information.

In solidarity,

Jean Hyams

CELA Chair

 

 

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