Lauren Teukolsky was quoted in an April 18 Daily Journal article on the California Supreme Court’s grant of review in Leeper v Shipt. The case involves the legality of so-called “headless” PAGA cases in which the plaintiff disclaims all individual relief and asserts only claims on behalf of other aggrieved employees. The Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) deputizes employees to bring a lawsuit to enforce the Labor Code on behalf of the state. Plaintiffs are using the “headless” PAGA tactic in an effort to avoid forced arbitration: while employers often seek to compel individual PAGA claims to arbitration, they typically want the claim on behalf of others to remain in court. If headless cases are permitted, plaintiffs can avoid arbitration altogether.

Recent court rulings have put this strategy into question. In Leeper, the intermediate appellate court held that a PAGA claim necessarily includes an individual claim. If the Supreme Court affirms Leeper, PAGA plaintiffs will no longer be permitted to bring headless PAGA cases to avoid arbitration. On April 22, the California Court of Appeal issued another decision holding that headless PAGA cases are not permitted, relying on Leeper.

Two other Court of Appeal decisions hold that headless PAGA cases are permitted, demonstrating the deepening split on this issue among California’s judges. In one of those cases, Rogriguez v Packers Sanitation, a petition for review is currently pending before the Supreme Court. Given the overlap of issues, the Court will likely grant review.

Interestingly, neither party in Leeper asked the Supreme Court for review. Instead, the Court granted review on its own motion, and deemed the plaintiff the appealing party. The Court certified two questions on appeal to be briefed and argued. First, does every PAGA claim include individual and non-individual claims regardless of what the complaint actually alleges? Second, can a plaintiff choose to only bring representative PAGA claims?
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The Daily Journal quoted Ms. Teukolsky saying, “It's going to be the next big PAGA case before the state Supreme Court.” Earlier this year, Ms. Teukolsky predicted the California Supreme Court would weigh in to clarify this issue given the confusion in the lower courts. 

​Lauren Teukolsky’s “Wage and Hour Case Notes” were published in the March 2025 edition of the CLA California Labor and Employment Law Review. Her column describes two recent decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States and California’s appellate court that affect wage-and-hour law.

Ms. Teukolsky’s column discusses a new U.S. Supreme Court opinion about an employer’s required burden of proof to classify workers as exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The column also discusses Leeper v Shipt, a recent California appellate decision addressing the “headless” PAGA phenomenon. The court held that a PAGA plaintiff may not disclaim individual relief to avoid arbitration. On February 26, a different California appellate panel criticized Leeper, holding that “headless” PAGA cases are permitted. Ms. Teukolsky predicts the California Supreme Court will soon address “headless” PAGA cases given the split of authority.

California Lawyers Association (CLA) is a voluntary statewide bar association. Ms. Teukolsky was recently appointed to serve on the Executive Committee of CLA’s Labor & Employment Section.  Her three-year term started in October 2024.
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Ms. Teukolsky has written for CLA’s California Labor and Employment Law Review for over two years. Her “Wage and Hour Case Notes” are published on an alternating quarterly basis. Ms. Teukolsky has represented workers for over two decades and her commentary on the latest developments in employment law is regularly featured by major publications such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, Law.com, and the Los Angeles Times. If you would like to speak with Ms. Teukolsky about a wage-and-hour matter, click here.

Lauren Teukolsky is set to speak at the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s 45th annual Labor & Employment Law Section Symposium. The LACBA symposium will take place on Wednesday, March 19 at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.  Ms. Teukolsky will speak on a panel alongside Tritia Murata, Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Cynthia Sandoval, mediator at Sandoval Mediation, and Todd Ratshin, Deputy Secretary of Enforcement at the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA).
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The panel will discuss the changes made to Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) law in the past year, including the recent appellate decisions about “headless” PAGA cases, the introduction of the early evaluation conference process, the limitations on violations that plaintiffs can assert, and the greater number of violations that employers can cure. The panel will reflect on how these changes impact their work and approach to PAGA litigation. Speakers will also touch on the state of wage-and-hour laws ranging from healthcare workers’ minimum wage to protections for child social media influencers.

Ms. Teukolsky has worked to protect employees’ rights for over two decades and speaks regularly at conferences on employment law. Earlier this month, Ms. Teukolsky spoke at the  Berkeley Law School Conference on Gender Discrimination and Harassment Law about a new federal law that excludes sexual harassment claims from arbitration. She recently spoke about PAGA at the UCLA Law Women LEAD conference, and moderated a session at CELA’s (California Employment Lawyer Association) Annual Employment Law Conference on individual wage-and-hour arbitrations. Her commentary on the latest developments in employment law is regularly featured by major publications such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, Law.com, and the Los Angeles Times.

To register for the LACBA Symposium on March 19, click here.  If you believe you’ve been treated unlawfully in the workplace and want to get in touch with our office, click here.

Lauren Teukolsky was recently quoted in a Daily Journal article and a Bloomberg Law article about a recent 2nd District Court of Appeal opinion halting the growing trend of “headless” PAGA cases. The Private Attorney Generals Act (PAGA) permits employees to act as deputies of the state and bring a suit on behalf of themselves and other aggrieved employees to enforce the Labor Code. A “headless” PAGA case is one in which the plaintiff disclaims all individual claims and seek PAGA penalties solely on behalf of other aggrieved employees. Plaintiffs typically engage in this practice to avoid mandatory arbitration of individual claims and the resulting delay in their PAGA case.

This practice grew in popularity after the California Court of Appeals issued Balderas v. Fresh Start Harvesting in April 2024, holding that workers who disclaim their individual claims can still bring a group PAGA action on behalf of other aggrieved employees. But in December 2024, a different division of the California Court of Appeals ruled in Leeper v. Shipt that a PAGA action on behalf of others necessarily includes an individual PAGA claim for the plaintiff, and the individual claim can be compelled to arbitration while the PAGA claim remains stayed in court.

The Daily Journal quoted Ms. Teukolsky saying if Leeper remains good law, “it is the end of the headless PAGA case.” She adds that, “there’s going to be a huge wave of defendants fling motions for reconsideration of lower court decisions that have allowed such lawsuits to proceed.” Bloomberg Law noted Ms. Teukolsky’s analysis of twenty post-Balderas court orders found that a majority denied motions to compel arbitration based on Balderas. She noted that “Given the sheer number of cases involving the headless PAGA issue, it seems likely that other courts of appeal will weigh in, and eventually the California Supreme Court will take one of these cases to clarify the law.”
Ms. Teukolsky has represented workers for over two decades and her commentary on the latest developments in employment law is regularly featured by major publications such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, Law.com, and the Los Angeles Times.

To read the Daily Journal article, click here.  To read the Bloomberg Law article, click here.  If you believe you’ve been treated unlawfully in the workplace and want to get in touch with our office, click here.

Lauren Teukolsky’s “Wage and Hour Case Notes” were published in the November 2024 edition of the CLA California Labor and Employment Law Review. Her column describes three recent decisions from California’s Supreme Court and appellate courts that affect wage-and-hour law.

Ms. Teukolsky’s column discusses whether Proposition 22’s classification of Uber and Lyft drivers as independent contractors is constitutional, and whether courts can approve PAGA settlements even when there are multiple overlapping PAGA cases. Her column also explores whether public entities are subject to California’s Labor Code provisions for rest and meal breaks.

California Lawyers Association (CLA) is a voluntary statewide bar association. Its mission is to “promote excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in access to justice and the rule of law.”  Ms. Teukolsky was recently appointed to serve on the Executive Committee of CLA’s Labor & Employment Section.  Her three-year term started in October 2024.

Ms. Teukolsky has written for CLA’s California Labor and Employment Law Review for over two years. Her “Wage and Hour Case Notes” are published on an alternating quarterly basis. Ms. Teukolsky has represented workers for over two decades and her commentary on the latest developments in employment law is regularly featured by major publications such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, Law.com, and the Los Angeles Times.

​If you would like to speak with Ms. Teukolsky about a wage-and-hour matter, click here.

Lauren Teukolsky was recently quoted in a Bloomberg article about the increasing use by California employees of “headless” PAGA cases to avoid being forced to arbitrate their wage-and-hour claims. The Private Attorney Generals Act (PAGA) permits employees to act as deputies of the state and bring a suit on behalf of themselves and other aggrieved employees to enforce the Labor Code.  In 2022, the United State Supreme Court ruled that employers may not require employees to waive PAGA claims via a mandatory arbitration agreement.  But the Court also ruled that employers can require employees to split their “individual PAGA claim” from the claim on behalf of others, and to arbitrate the individual claim.

​A headless PAGA case is one in which the plaintiff disclaims all individual claims, including the individual PAGA claim, and files the lawsuit to seek PAGA penalties solely on behalf of other aggrieved employees.  This strategy was galvanized after the California Court of Appeals issued Balderas v. Fresh Start Harvesting in April 2024, holding that workers who disclaim their individual claims can still bring a group PAGA action on behalf of other aggrieved employees.  While Balderas was not about arbitration, several plaintiffs’ lawyers have seized on the holding of the case to file headless PAGA cases in an effort to stay out of arbitration. 

​As stated in the Bloomberg article, Ms. Teukolsky’s analysis of 20 post-Balderas orders reveals that the majority of trial courts are following Balderas and permitting PAGA plaintiffs who disclaim individual claims to avoid arbitration.  A small but significant minority are distinguishing Balderas and still requiring PAGA plaintiffs to arbitrate their “aggrieved employee” status.  The Bloomberg article quoted Ms. Teukolsky saying, “Given this split, I anticipate we will see more decisions from the Court of Appeals in the next year or two about whether a PAGA plaintiff can stay out of arbitration by disclaiming all individual claims.”

Ms. Teukolsky has represented workers for over two decades and her commentary on the latest developments in employment law is regularly featured by major publications such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, Law.com, and the Los Angeles Times. To read the article in its entirety, click here. If you believe you’ve been treated unlawfully in the workplace and want to get in touch with our office, click here.

Lauren Teukolsky will speak at the UCLA Law Women LEAD Leadership Summit on Friday, September 27th. UCLA Law Women LEAD is an inclusive, intersectional community of UCLA Law women who aid each other in life and career. The group is hosting the Leadership Summit’s tenth anniversary which brings UCLA Law professors, alumni, and students from around the world to discuss important topics in the law. Ms. Teukolsky will speak on a panel discussing how to assess, litigate, and triumph in PAGA litigation after AB 2288 and SB 92. She will speak alongside Emily Gould Sullivan, Vice President of Legal at Ross Stores, Inc., and Tritia Murata, Partner at David Wright Termaine LLP.
 
Ms. Teukolsky has previously discussed the impact of these bills on PAGA litigation in a Bloomberg Law article . She is a frequent speaker on employment law topics. Last September, Ms. Teukolsky was selected to moderate a session at CELA’s (California Employment Lawyer Association) 36th Annual Employment Law Conference on individual wage-and-hour arbitrations. She has spoken a number of times on PAGA, including for the California Lawyers Association, CELA, the Alameda County Bar Association and Beverly Hills Bar Association. Her commentary on the effects of the California Supreme Court decision Adolph v. Uber on PAGA claims was also featured in articles by Bloomberg Law and Law.com.
 
Ms. Teukolsky’s panel starts at 1:25 pm PT at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall. To register for the Leadership Summit, click here. If you believe you’ve been treated unlawfully in the workplace and want to get in touch with our office, click here.

​Lauren Teukolsky was recently quoted in a Bloomberg Law article about the new PAGA reform package passed by the California Legislature in early July 2024. The package represents a compromise between businesses and labor groups that aims to strengthen worker protections while allowing employers to cure violations and face lower penalties. The reformed law, decades-long in the making, avoids a contentious ballot measure that would have repealed PAGA entirely if passed.

Several measures of the reform package benefit workers.  If a PAGA plaintiff recovers penalties for Labor Code violations, aggrieved employees get to keep 35% of the penalties, up from 25% under the previous law.  As before, the remainder of penalties are paid to the State.  Workers are also authorized to seek injunctive relief (i.e., a court order to require an employer to stop an unlawful practice), a remedy not authorized by the previous law. 

Other measures favor employers. Subject to limited exceptions, employees are now permitted to seek penalties only for Labor Code violations they have actually suffered.  Previously, an employee who suffered one type of violation could file a PAGA suit on behalf of other employees for any violation of the Labor Code.

A crucial aspect of the PAGA reform package is the early evaluation conference, theoretically aimed at reducing litigation length and costs. Now, large employers with more than 100 employees can request an early evaluation conference which halts ongoing litigation until a neutral third party assess the plaintiff’s claims, the company’s efforts to comply with the Labor Code, and plans to cure violations. Smaller employers may access a similar process through the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.  If employers can demonstrate they have cured the violations, PAGA penalties may be capped.

PAGA practitioners and courts will need to grapple with setting up early evaluation conferences in the months to come.  The reform package does not dictate how courts are supposed to implement the early evaluation program, leading PAGA practitioners like Ms. Teukolsky to wonder how courts with limited resources will implement such programs, especially in the face of recent budget cuts that have slashed court services. 

The Bloomberg article quoted Ms. Teukolsky saying,  “While courts that frequently handle PAGA lawsuits, like Los Angeles Superior Court, probably will establish high functioning evaluation programs, it’s less clear what will happen with smaller courts that don’t see as much of that kind of litigation.”   

Ms. Teukolsky has represented workers for over two decades and her commentary on the latest developments in employment law is regularly featured by major publications such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, Law.com, and the Los Angeles Times.

To read the article in its entirety, click here. If you believe you’ve been treated unlawfully in the workplace and want to get in touch with our office, click here.

Lauren Teukolsky was quoted in a Wednesday Bloomberg Law article about a recent Ninth Circuit opinion that discuss the effects of the California Supreme Court’s decision in Adolph v. Uber on PAGA cases proceeding in federal court.  The Ninth Circuit ruled that federal courts are bound to follow the California Supreme Court’s interpretation of PAGA standing, and do not need to follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s mistaken interpretation of PAGA standing in its 2022 Viking River Cruises decision.

In the Circuit Court’s decision, Judge Kenneth Kiyul Lee stated in his concurring opinion that arbitration proceedings under PAGA may not constitute a “full and fair opportunity to litigate,” thus offering a potential exception to arbitration proceedings’ preclusive effect on their associated court proceedings. In other words, if an employer were to receive a worker-friendly ruling from an arbitrator, that ruling may not have bearing on the analogous issues the employer is litigating in court.

How much of an effect Judge Lee’s opinion will have on California’s employment law landscape is still unclear. In Bloomberg Law’s article, Ms. Teukolsky says that the state’s appeals courts are still divided on the issue and have yet to “’squarely’” consider whether individual PAGA arbitration findings will impact group PAGA claims.

“’It’s too soon,’” Ms. Teukolsky says in the article.

The article also includes Ms. Teukolsky’s commentary on how Judge Lee’s opinion might be interpreted for the benefit of workers:

“The logic in Lee’s concurring opinion could also help claimants wield the ‘full and fair opportunity to litigate’ argument against adverse arbitration findings when their group PAGA claims unfold in court, Teukolsky said.”
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Ms. Teukolsky has represented workers for over two decades and her commentary on the latest developments in employment law is regularly featured by major publications such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, Law.com, and the Los Angeles Times.

To access the Bloomberg Law article in its entirety, click here. To learn more about Ms. Teukolsky’s practice and get in touch with the firm, click here.