On June 9, Californians for Fair Pay and Accountability submitted over 638,000 signatures for a ballot initiative that would repeal the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which allows employees to sue employers and collect a share of monetary penalties for state labor law violations, and replace it with a new law to litigate and penalize employment violations.
The campaign intended to place the initiative on the November ballot later this year, but on May 12, they announced that they would submit signatures for verification after the suggested deadline and target the 2024 ballot.
Currently, under PAGA, which was adopted in 2004, employees have a private right of action to collect civil penalties for violations against the state’s labor code without state intervention on behalf of the employees. Before pursuing a lawsuit under PAGA, an employee must first notify the state of the alleged violation. If the state does not investigate the violation, the employee may proceed with the lawsuit. According to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, approximately 5,000 PAGA notices are filed annually. Any penalties won under PAGA must be split between the employees (25%) and the state of California (75%). PAGA also allows individual employees to seek civil penalties on behalf of other aggrieved employees.
