Before the Court is Defendant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s ("Walmart") Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. (Dkt. No. 82 (hereinafter, "Mot.").) Plaintiff Lerna Mays ("Plaintiff") opposed the motion, and Walmart filed a reply. (See Dkt. No. 83 (hereinafter, "Opp'n"); see also Dkt. No. 85 (hereinafter, "Reply").) For the following reasons, the Court DENIES the Motion.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff brought this suit against Walmart on behalf of a putative class of former and current Walmart employees for *1140alleged violations of the California Labor Code. Plaintiff moved to certify the class and alleged Walmart engaged in three "class-wide policies and practices" that violate California law, including: (1) failing to provide the legal name of the employer on its wage statements; (2) failing to list net wages earned on certain wage statements issued after the Statement of Final Wages; and, (3) failing to timely pay all accrued wages immediately upon separation of employment. (Dkt. No. 43 at 1-2.) Plaintiff sought to certify two classes of Walmart associates: (1) all California workers who received a wage statement between December 16, 2016 to date (the "Wage Statement Class") and (2) all California workers who received one or more wage payments during the period from December 18, 2014 to date, whose employment terminated on or after December 18, 2014, who received additional wages or vacation pay following the issuance of their Statement of Final Wages (the "Former Employee Class").
On August 22, 2018, this Court denied the motion. (Dkt. No. 61 (hereinafter, "Class Cert. Order").) As to the Former Employee Subclass, the Court determined Plaintiff failed to establish numerosity, commonality, and predominance. (Id. at 7-13.) As to the Wage Statement Class, the Court found Plaintiff alleged no plausible concrete injury and therefore did not have standing to sue in federal court. (Id. at 19.) Accordingly, the Court dismissed Plaintiff's second cause of action for lack of standing with leave to amend. (Id. at 20.) The Court denied Plaintiff's subsequent motion for reconsideration of the order denying class certification. (Dkt. Nos. 63, 74.)
On September 12, 2018, Plaintiff filed the First Amended Complaint adding a representative claim under the Labor Code's Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA") of 2004,
Specifically, Plaintiff alleges Walmart "has had a consistent policy and/or practice of: (1) failing to timely pay employees all wages due upon termination; (2) knowingly and intentionally failing to timely furnish the proper itemized wage statements to employees; and (3) failing to pay reporting-time pay." (FAC ¶ 5.)
Walmart now moves for judgment on the pleadings as to Plaintiff's second cause of action for failure to provide adequate wage statements under California Labor Code section 226(a) and partial judgment on Plaintiff's seventh cause of action for civil penalties under PAGA on the ground that Plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies. (See generally Mot.)
*1141II. LEGAL STANDARD
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), "[a]fter the pleadings are closed- but early enough not to delay trial-a party may move for judgment on the pleadings." A Rule 12(c) motion follows the same standard as a motion to dismiss. Chavez v. United States ,
"While Rule 12(c)... does not expressly provide for partial judgment on the pleadings, neither does it bar such a procedure; it is common to apply Rule 12(c) to individual causes of action." Strigliabotti v. Franklin Res., Inc. ,
III. DISCUSSION
Walmart moves for judgment on the pleadings on Plaintiff's second cause of action for failure to provide adequate wage statements on the grounds that (1) the wage statements complied with Labor Code section 226(a)(8) and (2) Plaintiff failed to plead sufficient facts to establish Article III standing. Walmart also moves for partial judgment on the pleadings on Plaintiff's PAGA claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The Court will address each argument in turn.
A. Walmart Is Not Entitled to Judgment on Plaintiff's Second Cause of Action for Failure to Provide Adequate Wage Statements.
Plaintiff alleges that Walmart "knowingly and intentionally" failed to furnish to her and other aggrieved employees itemized wage statements that include Walmart's name, as required by California Labor Code section 226(a)(8). (FAC ¶¶ 5, 15.)
An employee who suffers an injury "as a result of a knowing and intentional failure by an employer to comply with subdivision (a) is entitled to recover" damages.
*1142Walmart moves for judgment on the pleadings on the grounds that Plaintiff has not alleged facts sufficient to support the first element, i.e., a violation of section 226(a). To ensure this Court has standing, the Court will also address the second and third elements.
1. Violation of Section 226(a)(8)
Plaintiff alleges that Walmart violated Labor Code section 226(a)(8), which requires employers to provide accurate, itemized wage statements to employees that list "the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer ," because the wage statements listed "Wal-Mart Associates, Inc.,"-Walmart's payroll company-instead of "Wal-Mart Stores, Inc."-Plaintiff's employer. (See FAC ¶ 15.) Walmart argues that Plaintiff fails to allege sufficient facts to support her claim because the wage statement identified Walmart as the employer and therefore complied with section 226(a)(8). Walmart contends the question at issue is "whether a statutory violation exists simply because the term 'Associates' was used instead of 'Stores' after the name 'Walmart.' " (Mot. at 18.) The answer, in Walmart's view, is no. The Court disagrees.
Here, Plaintiff attached a statement of earnings and deductions to her complaint, which has a "Walmart" logo at the top of the page and includes the following information:
Wal-Mart Statement of Earnings and Deductions
Wal-Mart Associates, Inc.
792 S.W. 8th Street 3522
Bentonville, AR 72716
(FAC, Ex. 8.)
Plaintiff also attached to the complaint a document titled "Notice to Employee" to "communicate employment-related information," which lists "Wal-Mart Stores, Inc." as the name of her employer and 702 S.W. 8th Street, Bentonville, AR 72716 as the physical and mailing address. (FAC, Ex. 3 at WM0006.) The notice lists other names that the employer does business as: "Wal-Mart Supercenter, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Vacations, Sam's Club, [and] Wal-Mart Distribution Center." (Id. ) Finally, the notice states "[t]he worksite employer does not use any other business entity to hire employees or administer wages or benefits." (Id. ) The notice contains no information about the payroll entity "Wal-Mart Associates, Inc."
The search results from the California Secretary of State's website
Walmart argues the Court should follow Elliot v. Spherion Pacific Work, LLC ,
The court examined Cicairos v. Summit Logistics, Inc. ,
Elliot distinguished Cicairos on the ground that the employer in Elliot "referred to itself in plain text, in the body of its wage statements, along with its address, thus clearly identifying itself as the employer." Elliot ,
The Court finds Plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts to show Walmart did not list the "legal entity" of Plaintiff's employer. Assuming the "Walmart" logo on Plaintiff's wage statement is a "truncated" version of the employer's name-"Wal-Mart Stores, Inc."-this truncated name renders the employer's name "confusing and unintelligible" in violation of section 226(a)(8) because separate entities share the same initial word "Walmart" in their company titles and Plaintiff has presented at least some evidence that multiple legal entities were using the same Bentonville address during Plaintiff's employment. Thus, Plaintiff has alleged a violation of section 226(a)(8).
2. Knowing and Intentional
A violation of section 226 is "knowing and intentional" when the employer actually knows that it has omitted from a pay statement any item required by section 226(a) ; it is not enough merely to prove a violation of section 226(a). See Willner v. Manpower Inc. ,
Here, Plaintiff alleges Walmart "has had a consistent policy and/or practice of," among other things, "knowingly and intentionally failing to furnish timely [and] proper itemized wage statements to Aggrieved Employees." (FAC ¶ 5.) Specifically, Plaintiff alleges "Wal-Mart has a policy and practice of devoting such insufficient funds to the payroll accounting function that ... Wal-Mart's pay stubs fail to include all of the information required by the Labor Code." (FAC ¶ 37.) Plaintiff further alleges Walmart "has routinely failed to provide Plaintiff and other Aggrieved Employees with ... proper itemized wage statements." (FAC ¶ 42.)
Plaintiff's general allegation that Walmart's noncompliance with the Labor Code was both "knowing[ ]" and "intentional[ ]" is sufficient for purposes of this Motion. Walmart's omissions in the notice to Plaintiff and at least two wage statements for different pay periods (which were attached to the complaint and can be considered for purposes of this Motion) supports a plausible inference that Walmart's noncompliance goes beyond a mere typographical or *1145otherwise inadvertent error. See Achal v. Gate Gourmet, Inc. ,
Thus, Plaintiff has satisfied the second element.
3. Resulting Injury
A plaintiff suffers an injury for purposes of Labor Code section 226(e) if: (1) the employer fails to provide a wage statement altogether; or (2) the employer omits an item required by section 226(a) and the employee "cannot promptly and easily determine from the wage statement alone" one of four enumerated categories of information-one of which is "the name and address of the employer." See
Here, Plaintiff alleges that Walmart's "failure to provide the accurate name of the employer on wage statements has injured Plaintiff by causing confusion as to who was her actual employer while Plaintiff was working for Defendant." (FAC ¶ 15.) Plaintiff further alleges:
During the course of Plaintiff's employment with [Walmart], wage statements provided to Plaintiff previously listed "Wal-Mart Stores, Inc." on the statements. Subsequently, [Walmart] made the decision to list "Wal-Mart Associates, Inc." on the statements. Obviously, this change caused confusion to Plaintiff and Aggrieved employees as to which was the entity that actually employed them, especially considering that other documents provided to Plaintiff by Defendant clearly indicated that Plaintiff was in fact employed by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
(Id. ) Accepting these allegations and the wage statements attached to the complaint as true and construing them in Plaintiff's favor, as we must, the Court concludes that an employee "cannot promptly and easily determine from the wage statement alone" the name of her employer. Accordingly, the Court is satisfied that Plaintiff suffered injury within the meaning of section 226(e).
4. Article III Standing
Walmart argues that Plaintiff's allegation that she was "confused" by her wage statements because Walmart listed "Wal-Mart Associates" as the employer instead of "Wal-Mart Stores" is insufficient to satisfy the injury requirement of Article III. (Mot. at 22.)
To maintain a lawsuit in federal court, a plaintiff must have standing. To demonstrate standing, a plaintiff must plausibly plead facts to establish the following three elements: (1) that he "suffered an injury in fact," (2) that there is "a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of," and (3) that it is "likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision." Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife ,
The presence of an injury in fact is the "[f]irst and foremost" element a plaintiff must show to satisfy standing.
*1146Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't ,
"Article III standing requires a concrete injury even in the context of a statutory violation."
To satisfy Article III's standing requirement, a plaintiff seeking damages for a statutory violation must plausibly allege (1) the statutory violation and (2) a "concrete" injury causally connected to the violation. Spokeo I ,
Although Plaintiff's allegations regarding injury are relatively general, she alleges the noncompliant wage statements listing "Wal-Mart Associates, Inc." instead of her employer "Walmart Stores, Inc." "caused confusion to Plaintiff ... as to which was the entity that actually employed [her], especially considering that other documents provided to Plaintiff by Defendant clearly indicated that Plaintiff was in fact employed by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc." (FAC ¶ 15.)
As noted in Godhigh c. Savers, LLC , "[t]his is a concrete injury sufficient to establish plaintiffs' standing under Article III." No. 16-CV-02874-WHO,
Walmart's motion for judgment on the pleadings on Plaintiff's section 226(a)(8) claim is DENIED .
B. Walmart Is Not Entitled to Partial Judgment on Plaintiff's PAGA Claim For Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies.
Walmart argues that Plaintiff's PAGA claim is barred to the extent it is based on Walmart's alleged failure to (1) provide adequate wage statements and (2) pay reporting-time compensation because Plaintiff did not exhaust her administrative remedies before initiating this action.
*1147Before a plaintiff can pursue a PAGA claim, the plaintiff must exhaust the administrative remedies specified in California Labor Code section 2699.3. Before filing a PAGA claim, a Plaintiff must give written notice to the employer and the California Labor Workforce Development Agency ("LWDA") of the "specific provisions of the [Labor] Code alleged to have been violated, including the facts and theories to support the alleged violation."
A notice that contains "a string of legal conclusions with no factual allegations or theories of liability to support them ... is insufficient to allow the [LWDA] to intelligently assess the seriousness of the alleged violations." Alcantar v. Hobart Serv. ,
Plaintiff provided notice of her intent to pursue civil penalties against Walmart in a notice letter to the LWDA dated June 14, 2017, which is attached as Exhibit 2 to the operative complaint. (Dkt. No. 64-1, Ex. 2 (hereinafter, "LWDA Notice").) The letter states that, "[p]ursuant to ... the California Labor Code [and] Private Attorneys General Act," Plaintiff alleges "Walmart violated provisions of the California Labor Code." (Id. at 1.) The letter asserts that "[t]he California Labor Code requires employers to provide its employees, among other things, itemized wage statements" and that "Wal-Mart failed to provide Plaintiff and the Aggrieved Employees pay stubs that contain all of the information required by section 226 of the Labor Code." (Id. at 1-2.) The letter continues by listing all nine requirements enumerated in section 226(a). (Id. at 2 (quoting
Walmart acknowledges that Plaintiff provides sufficient notice for at least one of Plaintiff's wage statement theories because Plaintiff alleges Walmart "failed to designate inclusive dates for pay periods on its wage statement." (Mot. at 14.) But Walmart argues "Plaintiff did not provide any requisite 'facts and theories' pertaining to the allegations in the [First Amended Complaint] that her wage statements failed to show all accumulated vacation pay *1148earned, failed to accurately list the gross and net wages paid, and failed to identify the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer." (Id. ) Walmart assumes that the letter must disclose every theory on which a plaintiff seeks civil penalties and allege facts supporting each of those theories. But a plaintiff is not required to put forth "every potential fact or every future theory." Cardenas ,
The Court finds that Plaintiff's letter complies with Labor Code section 2699.3 because it identifies at least some facts and theories regarding Walmart's alleged failure to provide adequate wage statements in violation of section 226(a). Here, Plaintiff's PAGA letter informs the LWDA that Walmart's wage statements were inadequate because Walmart failed to provide all information required by Labor Code section 226(a), "such as the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid. " (LWDA Notice at 2.) These allegations are sufficient to put Walmart and the LWDA on notice for potential investigation regarding deficiencies in Walmart's wage statements and therefore "satisfies the policy goal of California Labor Code § 2699.3(a)." Brown ,
Walmart's final argument is that Plaintiff did not exhaust administrative remedies as to her PAGA claim for failure to pay reporting time compensation because "the allegations regarding reporting pay expressly apply to Plaintiff only, and not to any other aggrieved employees." (Mot. at 16.) The Court disagrees.
The notice sufficiently suggested claims on behalf of aggrieved employees. The letter complains that "Wal-Mart also failed to pay Plaintiff proper reporting time for her last day of work, February 11, 2017." (LWDA Notice at 1.) The letter indicates, "[w]hen Plaintiff arrived for work that day, she was told she was terminated" and "was not paid proper reporting time work for that day." (Id. at 2.) If this was all Plaintiff said in the letter it, might suggest, as Walmart contends, that Plaintiff *1149was complaining about an individual violation. But PAGA claims "function[ ] as a substitute for an action brought by the government itself." Arias v. Superior Court ,
The language in the opening paragraph of Plaintiff's notice-informing the LWDA and Walmart that "Plaintiff seeks civil penalties on behalf of the State of California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, to be shared with all impacted employees"-further undermines Walmart's argument. (LWDA Notice at 1.) This language distinguishes this case from Khan v. Dunn-Edwards Corp. ,
Walmart's motion with respect to the PAGA claim is DENIED .
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Walmart's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Plaintiff requests that the Court take judicial notice of six exhibits. Exhibit 1 is the respondent's brief from Brown v. Ralphs Grocery Co. , Case No. B278911. (RJN, (Dkt. No. 83-1 ("RJN"); Dkt. No. 84, Declaration of Priya Mohan ("Mohan Decl.") ¶ 1, Ex. 1.) Exhibits 2 through 5 are various search results on the California Secretary of State's website. (RJN ¶¶ 2, 5; Mohan Decl. ¶¶ 3-7, Exs. 2-5.) And Exhibit 6 is a copy of Wal-Mart Associates, Inc.'s Statement of Information that it filed with the Secretary of State on September 6, 2018. (RJN ¶ 6; Mohan Decl. ¶ 8, Ex. 6.) Walmart has neither opposed the request or questioned the authenticity of these results. Although the Court may judicially notice that Exhibit 1 was filed in another proceeding, it may not notice the brief for the truth of any facts or arguments recited therein. See Lee v. City of Los Angeles ,
The Court notes that the Ninth Circuit may soon clarify what it means to furnish "an accurate itemized statement in writing showing ... the name ... of the legal entity that is the employer" in Davidson v. O'Reilly Auto Enterprises, LLC , No. ED CV 17-00603-RGK (AJWx),
In its Motion, Walmart also argues Plaintiff did not exhaust administrative remedies as to her PAGA claim for failure to provide employment records. (Mot. at 13-14.) The Court does not address this argument in the body of this Order because Plaintiff states she is not seeking penalties on her failure to permit inspection of employment records theory. (Opp'n at 2.) In its reply, Walmart insists it is entitled to judgment on the pleadings as to Plaintiff's PAGA claim for employment records in light of Plaintiff's concession. (Reply at 2.) However, courts "have discretion to grant dismissal on a 12(c) motion, in lieu of judgment, on any given claim." Gunn v. Family Dollar Stores, Inc. , No. 3:14-CV-1916-GPC-BGS,
See also Brown v. Ralphs Grocery Co. ,