Cases brought under PAGA allow people to bring workforce-wide claims on behalf of their coworkers as well as themselves.
This holiday season, shortly before Christmas, the Stockton CRLA office received the go-ahead to deliver funds to claimants in a 2007 case brought by landscape workers for underpaid wages.
Over the course of the case, which was filed in Stockton Superior Court, staff has been repeatedly inspired by the dedication of these clients. Stockton Attorney Marcela Ruiz recalls one client in his 60s arriving from a 48-hour bus trip at 5am and going straight to a settlement meeting that morning.
"These clients were so committed to this case because they were wronged, but also because other people like them were wronged," said Ruiz.
Cases brought under the California Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) allow people to bring workforce-wide claims on behalf of their coworkers as well as themselves. In this case, the four longtime landscape workers brought the case because they and their coworkers were not paid for all their travel time and other hours they worked, not given rest breaks, and required to work in extreme heat without health and safety precautions.
58 claimants (in addition to the named plaintiffs) recovered PAGA penalties, including underpaid wages, in amounts of $140 to $8,200.
Once CRLA staff at the Stockton office verified who could recover funds under the terms of the agreement, CRLA's support team hustled to process the claims themselves, in order to cut down on processing fees and deliver checks by Christmas. As claimants stop by the office to pick up their checks, even those receiving the smallest amounts express solidarity for their coworkers, and gratitude for an unexpected financial boon during this tough season and economy.