Judge: Peter Wilson, Case: 2019-01051885, Date: 2022-07-28 Tentative Ruling
Having reviewed all papers, including all supplemental papers, filed in connection with the Motion for Approval of $125,000 PAGA Settlement, the Court continues to have the following issues:
1. The Notice should include the dba for RWP Transfer, Inc.
2. In the 4th paragraph of the Notice, “aggrieved employees” should be replaced with “PAGA Employees” for consistency.
3. Although the proposed Order identifies the total amount of PAGA penalties and then the percentage allocated to the LWDA and the aggrieved employees, the proposed Order should also include the exact amounts due to the LWDA and the aggrieved employees. ROA 186, Proposed Order, ¶1.
4. The proposed Order should state that the Court finds that PAGA settlement to be "fair, reasonable, and adequate in view of PAGA's purposes to remediate present labor law violations, deter future ones, and to maximize enforcement of state labor laws." (See Moniz v. Adecco USA, Inc. (2021) 72 Cal. App. 5th 56.)
5. The certified Spanish translation of the Notice should be included as an exhibit to the proposed Order.
Plaintiff may submit a revised Notice and revised proposed Order within 5 court days. Should these issues be resolved to the satisfaction of the Court, the Court will GRANT the Motion subject to the following:
$ 5,000.00 for Plaintiff’s General Release Payment;
$ 41,666.66 for Attorney’s Fees;
$ 9,451.68 for Litigation Costs [reduced $2,274.75 for the costs of copies, faxes, scans, telephone and postage charges per CCP §1033.5(b) and Ladas v. California State Auto Ass’n (1993) 19 Cal.App.4th 761, 773-774 [no fax expenses where postage, telephone and photocopies are not allowed];
$ 3,250.00 for Settlement Administrator’s Fees and Costs; and
$ 65,631.66 total PAGA penalties with $ 49,223.75 allocated to the LWDA (75%) and $ 16,407.91 (25%) allocated to the aggrieved employees.
In the event there continue to be issues with the Notice and proposed Order, the Court CONTINUES the hearing to August 25, 2022 at 2 p.m. The August 25, 2022 hearing will be taken off calendar if the motion is granted before that date.
Plaintiff is ordered to give notice, including to the LWDA, and file a proof of service.