California Supreme Court Stabilizes the Law in California Misclassification Class Action Cases

n a long-awaited decision, the California Supreme Court in Duran v. U.S. Bank National Association, S200923 (May 29, 2014), clarified California’s standard for certifying class actions in employee misclassification cases. In doing so, the Court issued badly needed guidance to trial courts deciding whether employee wage class actions may be certified (or remain certified) as class actions. While the Court’s standard is not identical to that set forth in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct 2541 (2011) and Comcast v. Behrend, 133 S. Ct. 1426 (2013), Duran is a major step in bringing California’s law on class certification in line with the standards prevailing at the federal courts and in other states.