Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1756, AFL-CIO v. Superior Court

This case involved a dispute over whether labor unions could file wage theft lawsuits on behalf of their members. The Amalgamated Transit Union tried to sue several transit companies (First Transit, Progressive Transportation Services, and Laidlaw Transit Services) for allegedly stealing wages from bus drivers and other transit workers. The union wanted to use California's unfair competition law and a law called the Private Attorneys General Act to bring these claims to court. The California Supreme Court ruled against the union in 2009. The court decided that unions cannot file these types of representative lawsuits because they are not "aggrieved employees" - meaning they weren't directly harmed by the wage theft. The court also said that workers cannot transfer their right to sue to unions or other organizations that weren't actually injured by the employer's actions. This ruling matters for workers because it limits how unions can help fight wage theft. While unions can still support members in other ways, they cannot directly file certain types of wage and hour lawsuits in California courts. Workers who believe their wages were stolen may need to file individual lawsuits or find other legal representatives to pursue their claims.