Headless PAGA Claims, with Monte Grix

Tim Kowal August 20, 2025

Unlike any other state, California effectively deputizes employees to act as “Private Attorney Generals” to sue employers for PAGA claims—both for themselves, and for their co-workers. But since the individual claims can get compelled to arbitration, employees started to file claims only on behalf of the “body” of co-workers, asserting no claim on behalf of themselves as the “head” of the case.

Employer litigator Monte Grix explains how PAGA evolved into their “headless” form. Monte, Tim, and Jeff discuss the four cases currently on review before the California Supreme Court, including Leeper v. Shipt. Monte offers an inside view from the defense side, explaining why employers see these actions as a threat to arbitration agreements and the subject of growing appellate friction.

Also in this episode:

How Viking River Cruises and Adolph v. Uber set the stage for today’s headless-PAGA storm.
Strategic pleading: why some plaintiffs drop their individual claims to avoid arbitration.
The standing trap: can a plaintiff assert representative PAGA claims without showing personal harm?
The stakes in the four pending California Supreme Court cases: if a plaintiff can skip arbitration by asserting only representative claims, is PAGA immunity from arbitration complete?
Turrieta v. Lyft: why copycat plaintiffs can’t intervene in pending PAGA settlements.
Rodriguez v. Packer Sanitation and the Fifth District’s lesson in reading "and" as "and/or".

Plus: a side quest into unconscious bias, tenure-track discrimination, and why arbitration clauses remain a sore spot for appellate lawyers.

Then: the California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Hohenshelt eases the "30-day rule" for arbitration payments. Employers who pay a day late haven’t necessarily waived their rights—and Monte predicts the U.S. Supreme Court may eventually weigh in.

Tune in for appellate nuance, strategic pleading, and the headless claims keeping California employers (and the courts) up at night.

Monte Grix biography and LinkedIn profile.

Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed.

Appellate Specialist Tim Kowal's biography, LinkedIn profile, Twitter feed, and YouTube page.

Other items discussed in the episode:

Tim Kowal is an appellate specialist certified by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. Tim helps trial attorneys and clients win their cases and avoid error on appeal. He co-hosts the Cal. Appellate Law Podcast at CALpodcast.com, and publishes summaries of cases and appellate tips for trial attorneys. Contact Tim at Tim@KowalLawGroup.com or (949) 676-9989.

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Headless PAGA Claims, with Monte Grix

Other items discussed in the episode:

Related Posts:

"God made the angels to show Him splendor, … Man He made to serve Him wittily, in the tangle of his mind." — Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons

"At common law, barratry was 'the offense of frequently exciting and stirring up suits and quarrels' (4 Blackstone, Commentaries 134) and was punished as a misdemeanor." — Rubin v. Green (1993) 4 Cal.4th 1187

"Moot points have to be settled somehow, once they get thrust upon us. If an assertion cannot be proved, then it must be settled some other way, and nearly all of these ways are unfair to somebody." —T.H. White, The Once and Future King

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." — Plato (427-347 B.C.)

"A judge is a law student who grades his own papers." — H.L. Mencken

"It may be that the court is thought to be excessively legalistic. I should be sorry to think that it is anything else." — Hon. Sir Owen Dixon, Chief Justice of Australia

Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly. — Leviticus

"Upon putting laws into writing, they became even harder to change than before, and a hundred legal fictions rose to reconcile them with reality." — Will Durant