PAGA Party: Workers’ Finally Getting More

By Eugene Bruno on August 28, 2024

The Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) is a California law that allows employees to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties. This could be done for themselves or on behalf of other employees and the State of California for labor code violations.

Governor Newsome recently signed bipartisan legislation to reform PAGA. The objective is to make the act more effective by allowing employees to recover more money.

What Is PAGA?

PAGA represents private citizens, allowing employees to enforce labor laws where the state agency fails to take action or lacks the resources to do so. PAGA covers a wide range of labor code violations, including issues related to wages, meal and rest breaks, health and safety regulations, and more.

Under PAGA, employees can act as private attorney generals. This means they can file lawsuits for their own grievances and on behalf of other aggrieved employees and the state.

Civil penalties are the penalties collected through PAGA. They are split, with 75 percent going to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) and 25 percent to the affected employees. PAGA also allows for representative actions, which are similar to class actions with some differences.

Understanding Benefits and Criticisms of PAGA

Benefits of PAGA include the following:

1. Increased Enforcement: PAGA increases the enforcement of labor laws by supplementing the state’s resources with private enforcement.
2. Deterrent Effect: The threat of PAGA lawsuits incentivizes employers to comply with labor laws, improving workplace conditions.

Criticisms of PAGA include the following:

1. Litigation Flood: Critics argue that PAGA has led to an increase in litigation, burdening employers with lawsuits and sometimes leading to excessive penalties for minor infractions.
2. Attorney Fees: PAGA lawsuits can result in significant attorney lawyer fees, which some argue benefits lawyers more than the aggrieved employees.

PAGA empowers employees to enforce labor laws and seek penalties for violations, thus promoting better compliance among employers. However, it also brings challenges related to increased litigation and potential abuse. As such, it remains a topic of debate among employers, employees, and lawmakers in California.

What This PAGA Reform Proposal Will Do

The reform penalty structure is as follows:

• Encourages compliance with labor laws by capping penalties on employers who quickly take steps to fix policies and practices. Also encourages employers who act responsibly to take proactive steps to comply with the Labor Code before even receiving a PAGA notice.
• Creates new, higher penalties on employers who act maliciously, fraudulently or oppressively in violating labor laws.
• Ensures that more penalty money goes to employees by increasing the amount allocated to employees from 25 percent to 35 percent.

Reduce and Streamline Litigation

• Expands which Labor Code sections can be cured to reduce the need for litigation and make employees whole quickly.
• Protects small employers by providing a more robust right-to-cure process through the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) to reduce litigation and costs.
• Codifies that a court may limit the scope of claims presented at trial to ensure cases are managed effectively.

Improve Measures for Injunctive Relief and Standing

• Allows courts to provide injunctive relief to compel businesses to implement changes in the workplace to remedy labor law violations.
• Requires the employee to personally experience the alleged violations brought in a claim.

Strengthen State Enforcement

• Give the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) the ability to expedite hiring and fill vacancies to ensure effective and timely enforcement of employee labor claims.

An Employment Law Lawyer Can Help You Understand Your Rights

Understanding labor laws as an employee can be confusing. But you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. At Eugene Bruno & Associates, we have over 40 years of experience helping people like you. In fact, our firm has provided legal guidance to over 2,500 clients throughout San Diego and California. Additionally, firm founder Eugene Bruno has devoted his practice entirely to fighting for the rights of people over corporations for almost 30 years.

Reach out to our employment law lawyers in San Diego for help with your rights as an employee. Call our firm at 1-888-BRUNO-88 (1-888-278-6688) to discuss your issue.