Stay Ahead of the Curve: Best Practices for PAGA Compliance
For employers operating in California, the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) has been a significant concern for the past 17 years. Dubbed “the Bounty Hunter” statute, PAGA empowers employees to sue their employers for violations of the California Labor Code on behalf of the State. This allows them to seek cumulative penalties, with a portion going to the employee as a reward, while the state retains the rest along with reimbursing the employee’s attorney’s fees and costs.
Understanding PAGA’s Mechanics:
At its core, PAGA enables employees to sue their employers for Labor Code violations. It allows them to litigate on behalf of the State and fellow employees, seeking civil penalties for each violation occurrence. While PAGA doesn’t directly recover unpaid wages, it does facilitate civil penalties, with attorneys’ fees potentially awarded. However, 65% of any judgment or settlement goes to the State, while the remaining 35% benefits the aggrieved employees.
With the new reforms passed in June 2024, PAGA allows employers the opportunity to cure, or correct, certain violations during the notice period and avoid PAGA litigation and penalties. Violations that can be cured now include claims for minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, necessary expense reimbursement, and all requirements for itemized wage statements, among others. Employer cure proposals are treated as confidential settlement proposals and may not be used to prove the validity of any claim or as an admission of liability. All cure notices or proposal and cure disputes must be submitted online.
This blog is written as of January 2025. Recommendations and legal requirements are changing rapidly, so please continue to review our legal updates or review postings on relevant government websites.
All blogs on this site are for educational purposes only, do not constitute legal advice or opinion, and should not be applied to your situation, or any specific situation, without consultation with counsel. Strategy Law, LLP does not provide any legal advice concerning any matter discussed in a blog except upon formal engagement including, without limitation, execution of Strategy Law, LLP’s formal legal services agreement, and with respect to specific factual situations. No blog constitutes a guaranty, warranty, or prediction regarding the result of any legal matter discussed in the blog or any representation.
