Rosalina Zuniga was a housekeeper employed by a residential care facility. She sued her former employer for various wage and hour violations of the California Labor Code and sought civil penalties under California’s Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”). The trial judge found in favor of the defendant and MLG appealed. In a published decision, the Second District Court of Appeal reversed the judgment on the ground and ordered a new trial. The Court held that the trial judge erred in excluding Zuniga’s expert’s testimony and that the expert could reasonably rely on the statistical data supporting the expert’s opinions establishing the Labor Code violations.
The defendant filed a petition for rehearing with the Court of Appeal and also petitioned for review with the California Supreme Court, both of which were denied.