CHICAGO, March 14, 2024 —In 2023, actions under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) saw their first setback as a workaround to workplace arbitration programs that require individual proceedings. To assist with understanding what this means for employers facing PAGA claims, Duane Morris LLP has released the Duane Morris Private Attorneys General Act Review – 2024, the latest edition of this annual publication. It analyzes the key PAGA rulings, settlements and litigation developments in 2023 and the significant trends that are apt to impact these types of representative actions in 2024.

According to data maintained by the California Department of Industrial Relations, the number of PAGA notices filed with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency has increased exponentially over the past two decades. At the same time, the plaintiff’s bar in California used PAGA actions to circumvent workplace arbitration agreements with class action waivers on the grounds that PAGA claims were somehow different than class actions and not covered by arbitration defenses. But this PAGA workaround has suffered significant setbacks in 2022 and 2023.

Written by Duane Morris partners Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Jennifer A. Riley and Shireen Y. Wetmore, and special counsel Brandon Spurlock, the Private Attorneys General Act Review – 2024 reflects a broad array of “lessons learned” from their extensive experience in defending PAGA class action litigation in California.

“The purpose of the Duane Morris Private Attorney General Act Review is multifaceted,” says Maatman. “We hope it will demystify some of the complexities of class action and representative litigation and keep corporate counsel updated on the ever-evolving nuances of these issues, offering practical approaches in dealing with this type of litigation.”

Manifesting the collective knowledge of the Duane Morris Class Action Defense Group and more than 125 years’ combined class action experience of our editors, the Duane Morris Private Attorneys General Act Review – 2024 is designed to assist our clients by identifying developing trends in the case law and offering practical approaches in dealing with class and collective action litigation.

Download the Private Attorneys General Act Litigation Review from the publisher. The e-book is fully searchable and viewable from any device.

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Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.