The Recorder turned to Akerman Litigation Partner Anthony Sbardellati to provide insight on what an expected overhaul of California's Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) will mean for employers and employees, in anticipation of the proposed bill that will limit who can sue for state labor law violations and how much can be awarded in penalties.

“From the defense perspective, this provides an opportunity to ask the court to bifurcate the proceedings so that the plaintiff’s personal claims are heard first,” Sbardellati told The Recorder. “Whether or not they have standing to pursue PAGA penalties on behalf of other employees is going to depend on whether they actually experienced the Labor Code violations at issue. Proving their own violations first should happen. That would be the gatekeeper for discovery and the case as to the rest of the employees.”