Uber Hits California Court Speedbump In Labor Case

A unique California labor law withstood a court challenge, dealing a blow to business owners who were seeking limitations on workers' rights to sue collectively. The California Supreme Court's decision in the Uber case keeps the controversial law in place, but a trio of attorneys from Seyfarth Shaw — Michael Afar, Bailey Bifoss and Andrew Paley — encourage employers to pump the brakes on pessimism.

The California Supreme Court recently announced its highly anticipated decision in Adolph v. Uber. The headline? A plaintiff whose individual Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims are compelled to arbitration retains standing to pursue representative PAGA claims in court.

The ruling in Adolph confirms the state court's departure from last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision in Viking River v. Moriana, which held that there would be "no mechanism" for a court to adjudicate an employee's representative PAGA claims once their individual claims were compelled to