Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Superior Court

In the underlying action, real parties in interest sought to recover civil penalties from petitioner Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (Home Depot), under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA; Lab. Code, § 2698 et seq.). 1 The trial court overruled Home Depot’s demurrer to the first amended complaint, which contains a claim under PAGA based on Home Depot’s alleged failure to provide seating to its employees pursuant to section 1198 and Industrial Welfare Commission wage order No. 7-2001 *215 (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 11070). Home Depot challenges this ruling by petition for writ of mandate or other relief. We conclude that the complaint states a claim under PAGA, and thus deny the petition on its merits.

RELEVANT FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On September 11, 2009, real parties in interest Devon Harris and Lawrence Winston filed their first amended complaint, which asserts a single claim under PAGA on behalf of themselves and former and current employees of Home Depot. The complaint alleges that Home Depot operates stores across the nation that sell home improvement products and hardware, including more than 100 stores in California. According to the…