California Court Of Appeal Concludes That Individuals Can Be Personally Liable For Civil Penalties For Wage-Hour Violations

The question whether an individual may be held liable for alleged wage-hour violations is one that occasionally arises in class action litigation - and, for obvious reasons, it is one that is particularly important to individuals who own entities or who are responsible for overseeing wage-hour compliance.

In Atempa v. Pedrazzani, the California Court of Appeal held that persons responsible for overtime and/or minimum wage violations in fact can be held personally liable for civil penalties, regardless of whether they were the employer or the employer is a limited liability entity. And the Court concluded that private plaintiffs may pursue and collect these penalties for "aggrieved employees" on behalf of the state of California through the Private Attorneys' General Act ("PAGA").

Defendant Paolo Pedrazzani was the owner, president, director, and secretary of Pama, Inc.. Two former employees filed a variety of wage-hour claims against Pedrazzani and Pama in July 2013, including claims for civil penalties on the basis of unpaid minimum wages (Cal. Lab. Code 1197.1) and unpaid overtime (Cal. Lab. Code 558). Following a judgment in favor of the employees that Pedrazzani and Pama were jointly and severally liable for the civil penalties, Pedrazzani appealed and Pama filed for bankruptcy.

The Court of Appeal held that Pedrazzani was personally liable for the civil penalties because "the Legislature has decided that both the employer and any 'other person' who causes a violation of the overtime pay or minimum wage laws are subject to specified civil penalties." (italics original). And because neither statute mentions corporate structure, corporate form, or suggests...