Olson v. Lyft: PAGA Waivers Remain Unenforceable UnderIskanian, Says Another CA Ct. of Appeal

In Brandon Olson v. Lyft, Inc., Cal. Ct. App. 4th Dist., No. A156322, Oct. 29, 2020 (slip op. available here), Lyft appealed an order denying its motion to compel Olson’s PAGA claims to arbitration. Lyft argued that the California Supreme Court’s holding in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal.4th 348 (2014) (precluding enforcement of PAGA waivers) was “wrongly decided” and no longer good law in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 138 S.Ct. 1612 (2018). Slip op. at 1.

The court disposed of the first argument in a footnote, pointing out that arguing that a California Supreme Court decision was “wrongly decided” is “not productive” in either a trial or appellate court. Slip op. at 5. The court then rejected the second argument, noting that an “identical argument” was rejected in Correia v. N.B. Baker Electric, Inc., 32 Cal.App.5th 602 (2019). Slip op. at 1. In doing so, the First District joined a growing number of courts following Correia. E.g. Collie v. The Icee Co., 52 Cal.App.5th 477, 480 (2020) (“[w]e also join Correia . . . in holding that Epic Systems . . . does not undermine the reasoning of Iskanian”); Provost v. YourMechanic, Inc., 55 Cal.App.5th 982 (2020) (“[w]e reaffirm here our analysis and decision in Correia that Epic did not overrule Iskanian”) (Provost was previously covered on the ILJ here).

Epic cannot overrule Iskanian because Epic did not address private attorney general laws like PAGA or qui tam suits. “Epic held that an employee who agrees to individualized arbitration cannot avoid this agreement by asserting claims on behalf of other employees under the FLSA or federal class action procedures.” Slip op. at 11, quoting the trial court. But, a PAGA claim is a qui tam type action, and the PAGA litigant’s status is as “the proxy or agent” of the state, acting “on behalf of state law enforcement agencies.” Id. at p. 12, discussing Iskanian, 59 Cal.4th at 238 (emphasis added). No employee can waive PAGA claims because the claims are not theirs to waive. “[A] PAGA claim is a dispute between the state on the one hand, and the employer on the other.” Slip op. at 6, citing Iskanian at pp. 385-387.  Yet another court reiterates that, since Epic did not overrule Iskanian, PAGA waivers remain unenforceable in California.

Authored by:
Robert Friedl, Senior Counsel
CAPSTONE LAW APC