Ninth Circuit Barred Removal Of Class Action Claim Against Employer.

Plaintiff brought a class action against his employer asking for civil penalties for failure to pay for overtime and provide for meal breaks and rest periods under California’s Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 [Labor Code §§ 2698-2699.5; PAGA]. His employer removed the action to the federal district court. The Ninth Circuit was faced with the issue of whether the district court may exercise original jurisdiction over a PAGA class action under the federal Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 [28 U.S.C. §§ 1332(d), 1453 & 1711-15; CAFA]. The Ninth Circuit determined the district court could not exercise jurisdiction over this removed PAGA claim under CAFA. (Baumann v. Chase Investment Services Corporation (Ninth Cir.; March 13, 2014) (Case No. 12-55644).