PAGA Claims
The Private Attorneys General Act lets an employee sue for civil penalties on behalf of the state when an employer violates the Labor Code.
The Private Attorneys General Act allows an employee to sue for civil penalties on behalf of the state for Labor Code violations that affected other workers as well. The statute appears at Labor Code sections 2698 through 2699.8. It operates as a substitute for state enforcement, which is one reason a PAGA case can move forward in court even where an employee has signed an arbitration agreement covering individual claims.
Who Can Bring a Claim
The employee must be an aggrieved employee, meaning someone who personally experienced the Labor Code violations alleged. Reforms enacted in 2024 tightened this standard considerably. A plaintiff must have personally suffered each violation they seek to pursue on behalf of others, and must have suffered it within the year preceding the filing of the notice.
The Notice Requirement
A PAGA case begins with written notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and to the employer, submitted through the agency’s online portal with a filing fee. The notice must describe the specific violations and the facts and theories supporting them. The agency then has a set period to decide whether to investigate. If it declines, or if it does not respond within the statutory window, the employee may file suit.
Case Results
What the 2024 Reforms Changed
Assembly Bill 2288 and Senate Bill 92 apply to claims where the agency notice was filed on or after June 19, 2024. The principal changes are these:
- Employees now receive 35 percent of recovered civil penalties, increased from 25 percent
- The default penalty of $100 per employee per pay period drops to $25 for certain wage statement violations where the employee could still determine the accurate information, and to $50 for isolated violations lasting no more than 30 days or four pay periods
- The heightened $200 penalty now applies only where a court or the agency previously found the practice unlawful within five years, or where the conduct was malicious, fraudulent, or oppressive
- Employers that took all reasonable steps to comply before receiving notice may cap penalties at 15 percent of the amount otherwise available, and at 30 percent for steps taken after notice
- Smaller employers may use a confidential proposal to cure process, and larger employers may request an early evaluation conference
- Courts may consolidate PAGA suits alleging overlapping violations against the same employer
- Courts retain discretion to reduce any penalty that would be unjust or arbitrary
Violations Commonly Pursued
- Unpaid minimum wage or overtime
- Missed or interrupted meal and rest periods
- Inaccurate or incomplete wage statements
- Failure to reimburse necessary business expenses
- Late payment of wages during employment
- Failure to pay all wages owed at separation
- Failure to keep or produce required payroll records
How PAGA Differs From a Class Action
A PAGA claim seeks civil penalties owed to the state rather than damages owed to individual employees, and it does not require class certification. Because 65 percent of any recovery goes to the state agency, the payout to any individual worker is typically smaller than in a class action. Many wage cases are filed with both a class claim for damages and a PAGA claim for penalties, so that the two mechanisms cover different parts of the exposure.
Deadline
A PAGA claim must be filed within one year of the violation. That window is shorter than the deadline for most of the underlying wage claims, which is why the timing of the agency notice often determines how much of a case survives.
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