Clayton Dezan, et al. v. Dignity Health, et al.

San Bernardino, California employment law lawyer represented the Plaintiff who sued on breach of employment contract theory.



Plaintiffs Clayton Dezan, Cathy Rhinehart, and Shelley Wardrop worked as registered nurses at Community Hospital Of San Bernardino (Hospital), operated by Dignity Health (together, Defendants). They were members of the California Nurses Association (CNA) union and subject to its collective bargaining agreement (CBA). They filed a putative wage and hour class action for hourly Hospital workers, which included a claim under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) (Lab. Code, § 2698 et seq.).



After denying class certification, the trial court granted summary adjudication to Defendants on certain issues. The case proceeded to a Phase I jury trial on the remaining individual claims, a Phase II jury trial on PAGA, and post-trial motions. The court entered an amended judgment in January 2022. Plaintiffs challenge a number of rulings, while Defendants contest the denial of judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) on the individual meal and rest break claims. We resolve these contentions as follows.



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Legal issue Can employees bring a class action lawsuit for wage and hour claims if the claims involve different unions and working conditions under collective bargaining agreements?



Key Phrases Wage and hour class action. Private Attorneys General Act. Class certification denial. Collective bargaining agreement. Summary adjudication ruling.

The amended judgment affirmed in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion, as summarized in the introduction.