Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) Claims Stayed Until Arbitration Of Other Claims Completed.

This is a wage and hour case containing a cause of action alleging plaintiff is suing in his representation capacity under the Labor Code’s Private Attorney General Act of 2004 [Labor Code sections 2698-2699.5; PAGA]. In Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348, [173 Cal.Rptr.3d 289, 327 P.3d 129], our Supreme Court held the public policy behind the vindication of employees’ statutory protections must yield to the policy protecting agreements to arbitrate disputes involving interstate commerce. The Court of Appeal ruled the trial court must grant the petition to compel arbitration for plaintiff’s non-PAGA claims, but that because the issues subject to litigation under the PAGA might overlap those that are subject to arbitration of plaintiff’s individual claims, the trial court must order an appropriate stay of trial court proceedings pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.4. The appeals court stated: “The stay’s purpose is to preserve the status quo until the arbitration is resolved, preventing any continuing trial court proceedings from disrupting and rendering ineffective the arbitrator’s jurisdiction to decide the issues that are subject to arbitration.” (Franco v. Arakelian Enterprises, Inc. (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 1; February 26, 2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 947, [184 Cal.Rptr.3d 501].)