What happened?

On December 30, 2024, the California Court of Appeal decided in Leeper v. Shipt to end the “headless” PAGA actions practice.

Overview:

The court ruled that every PAGA claim must include an individual and representative component, preventing plaintiffs from filing purely representative claims to avoid arbitration.

• This decision strengthens the enforceability of arbitration agreements in PAGA cases, ensuring that individual PAGA claims go to arbitration while representative claims proceed in court.

• The court also clarified that the Balderas v. Fresh Start Harvesting case does not support purely representative PAGA claims.

• This ruling is a win for employers, closing a loophole that allowed employees to bypass arbitration. Employers should review their arbitration agreements to ensure compliance with this interpretation of PAGA.

Source References

• Leeper v. Shipt, Inc.

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