Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (June 15, 2022, 20-1573)
California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) permits an aggrieved employee to bring a representative action on behalf of current or former employees to recover civil penalties for wage-related violations of California’s Labor Code.
In Viking River Cruises, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts California law to the extent state law prohibits the arbitration of individual PAGA claims. The Supreme Court also held that, where plaintiffs are compelled to arbitrate their individual PAGA claims, their representative PAGA claims must be dismissed because PAGA does not authorize those plaintiffs to pursue representative PAGA claims under those circumstances.
