PAGA is the abbreviation for the Private Attorneys General Act, which is a law of the State of California that permits a worker to file a complaint against an employer that he or she believes has violated the industrial code of labor on behalf of himself or herself and every other similar worker. Here's an overview of how PAGA works:
What types of violations can be remedied by PAGA?
Under the Private Attorney General Act employees are allowed to file litigation in regards to violations of the California Labor Code. This encompasses lawsuits where the employer has breached legal provisions on minimum wages, working! Hours and overtime, meal and rest breaks reimbursement of expenses, wage statements, and all other pertinent provisions in the Labor Code.
Who can file a PAGA claim?
Under PAGA, any employee who has been victimized by a Labor Code violation can file a PAGA lawsuit. The employee suing is referred to as the “aggrieved employee .” To have legal standing they must be aggrieved in some manner by at least one Labour Code violation by their employer.
Liability pre-suit notice rules
Before an employee files a PAGA lawsuit, the employee must serve a written notice to the employer and the LWDA of which provisions of the California Labor Code were violated. This notice has to contain facts and theories in support of such violations.
If the LWDA does not investigate or issue citations the employee can then file a civil PAGA lawsuit after sixty-five days. The waiting period also enables the employer to fix compliance breaches without opting for the labor court.
Civil penalties
According to the PAGA lawsuit, the court can make an award that covers civil penalties for each violation. The penalties are $100 for each aggrieved employee per pay period for the first violation. A second degree of violation and an intentional violation attract more severe sanctions.
LWDA receives seventy-five percent of the penalties while the employees affected by violation receive only twenty-five percent of the penalties. And that makes PAGA a valuable enforcement tool as regards violations of labor laws in the state. Employees also can recover attorneys' fees and costs.
Finally, PAGA allows employees to sue the government agency under Labor Codes. It has gone on to serve as an essential instrument in dealing with massive infringement in California.