Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Frequently Asked Questions

PAGA is administered by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA). LWDA has assigned LCO responsibility over the investigation of PAGA notices alleging wage and hour violations, and Cal/OSHA has been assigned responsibility over the investigation of PAGA notices raising health and safety violations.

As of October 1, 2024, LWDA has established a separate PAGA Unit to administer the prelitigation early resolution “cure” procedures enacted by the 2024 PAGA reforms (SB 92). The LWDA PAGA Unit reviews cure proposals and conducts cure conferences for “small employer” cure proceedings (see Questions 12-14). The unit also reviews cure notices by employers of any size involving alleged wage statement violations (see Question 16). LCO holds cure determination hearings in cases where an employee disputes a preliminary cure determination issued by the LWDA PAGA Unit (see Question 15).

Employees can bring an action to recover civil penalties under PAGA on behalf of themselves and other current and former employees.

For PAGA notices filed on or after June 19, 2024, any current or former employee who has experienced each of the Labor Code violations alleged may file a PAGA lawsuit. An employee represented by a non-profit legal service organization that litigated PAGA actions in court for at least five years before January 1, 2025, may file a PAGA lawsuit if the employee experienced at least one of the violations alleged.

For PAGA notices filed before June 19, 2024, a PAGA lawsuit may be filed by a current or former employee who experienced at least one of the alleged Labor Code violations.

Private employers are subject to PAGA lawsuits for violations of the Labor Code, but government employers are not.

An employee bringing a PAGA lawsuit can recover civil penalties on behalf of the LWDA, a portion of which is distributed amongst the aggrieved employees. For PAGA cases where the notice and lawsuit are filed on or after June 19, 2024, a court also may order the employer to stop its unlawful conduct.

The amount of civil penalties available in a PAGA lawsuit depends on the type of violation. Penalties allocated to the LWDA fund enforcement of labor laws and education of employers and employees about their rights and responsibilities under the Labor Code. Penalties are divided between the LWDA and employees as follows:

• For PAGA notices filed before June 19, 2024: 75% of the recovered penalties go to LWDA and 25% go to the aggrieved employees.
• For PAGA notices filed on or after June 19, 2024: 65% of the recovered penalties go to LWDA and 35% go to the aggrieved employees.

For PAGA notices filed on or after June 19, 2024, an employer may reduce the amount of civil penalties recoverable against it by taking all reasonable steps to comply with the law. If an employer already is taking all reasonable steps to comply with the law before receiving a PAGA notice, but a violation still occurred, the maximum civil penalty is 15% of the penalty sought. If the employer is not taking all reasonable steps at the time it receives a PAGA notice but begins taking all reasonable steps to be prospectively in compliance with the law within 60 days after receiving a PAGA notice, the maximum civil penalty is 30% of the penalty sought. Certain exceptions apply.

Before an employee can file a PAGA lawsuit, the employee must give written notice of the Labor Code violations alleged to both the LWDA and the employer. Notice to the LWDA is provided by filling out an online form and uploading a written notice describing the violations alleged using the Department of Industrial Relations’ PAGA Filing Portal. The written notice also must be sent to the employer by certified mail. There is a $75 filing fee when submitting a PAGA notice, which may be waived based on certain financial hardships.

The purpose of the written notice requirement is to allow LWDA an opportunity to investigate the violations alleged, as well as to advise the employer of the nature of the claims asserted so the employer can decide whether to respond to the notice or cure the violations alleged.

The notice must specify the section(s) of the Labor Code alleged to have been violated and must include sufficient facts and legal theories to support each alleged violation. It is not enough to merely recite or rephrase the law or code section(s) or make conclusory statements without factual support. The notice must give enough information about the alleged violations to allow LWDA to investigate them and provide employers the opportunity to correct, or cure, them in certain circumstances.

After the LWDA receives a PAGA notice, there are several possible outcomes:

1. LCO may investigate any PAGA notice alleging wage and hour violations.

• If LCO intends to investigate a PAGA notice, LCO will notify both the employer and employee within 65 days of the PAGA notice. If no notice to investigate is provided within this 65-day period, the employee is authorized to file suit in court.
• If LCO provides notice it will investigate, it has 120 days to complete its investigation. If LCO does not file suit or issue a citation within 120 days of its decision to investigate, the employee is authorized to file suit in court.
• If LCO does file suit or issue a citation during its 120-day investigation period, the employee may not file a PAGA lawsuit based on the same facts and theories contained in the LCO’s citation or lawsuit.

2. In certain circumstances, an employer may seek to cure a violation during the notice period and avoid civil penalties and litigation costs. If LWDA determines an alleged violation has been cured, the employee may not file a PAGA lawsuit asserting that violation. (See Questions 13 and 16 for more information on the cure processes.)
3. Cal/OSHA must investigate any PAGA notice alleging health and safety violations and can issue a citation within six months of the alleged violations. If a citation is issued, the employee cannot file a PAGA lawsuit. If Cal/OSHA does not issue a citation within the prescribed period, an employee may challenge that decision in court or file a PAGA lawsuit.

Within 10 days after filing a PAGA lawsuit in court, the employee must provide a file-stamped copy of the court complaint by submitting online using the PAGA Filing Portal.

Yes. An employer may, but is not required, to respond to an employee’s PAGA notice. Any response must be submitted to the LWDA using the PAGA Filing Portal. There is a $75 filing fee when submitting an employer response. Please note a “response” to a PAGA notice is not the same as a cure proposal or notice of cure. An employer intending to propose to cure alleged violations or providing notice it has cured a wage statement violation (see Question 10) must do so using the appropriate link available on the PAGA Filing Portal.

PAGA provides employers an opportunity to cure, or correct, certain violations during the notice period or at the beginning of a lawsuit to avoid litigation and potential penalties. For notices filed on or after June 19, 2024, the PAGA reform legislation expands the types of violations that can be cured to include claims for minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, necessary business 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.

After the 2024 PAGA reform legislation, the following cure processes are available as of October 1, 2024:

• Small Employer Administrative Cure Process: An employer that employed less than 100 employees total during the one-year period before a PAGA notice was filed may submit to LWDA a confidential proposal to cure certain types of alleged violations. (See Questions 12-14 for more information about the small employer administrative cure process.)
• Wage Statement Administrative Cure Process: Employers of any size may cure violations of the wage statement itemization requirements described in Labor Code section 226 through an expedited process if this is the only type of violation the employer seeks to cure. An employer may cure a wage statement violation using this process by giving written notice to LWDA and the employee that it has cured the violation. (See Question 16 for more information regarding the wage statement administrative cure process.)
• Judicial Early Evaluation Conference: For lawsuits based on PAGA notices filed on or after June 19, 2024, employers that employed 100 or more employees during the one-year period before a PAGA notice was filed may file a request with the court for an early evaluation conference. Smaller employers who wish to avail themselves of the process also may request it. Please note this is a court-administered process after a lawsuit has been filed, and LWDA does not administer these procedures. (See Question 18 for more information about the early evaluation conference process.)

An employer may not use the cure provisions more than once in a one-year period for the same violations.

The type of cure required in a particular situation depends on the violation at issue.

Wage Statement Violations (Labor Code section 226): There are two types of cures available for violations of wage statement itemization requirements.

• If the violation involves a failure to include the correct name and address of the employer on the wage statement, an employer may cure that violation by giving written notice of the correct information to all employees affected. The employer is not required to issue corrected wage statements for past pay periods, but the notice to employees must give the correct information and identify all pay periods in which the correct information was not included.
• If the violation involves any of the other itemization requirements, the employer must provide corrected wage statements containing all required information to each affected employee for each pay period during which the violation occurred going back three years from the date of the PAGA notice. The employer can provide employees access to an electronic version of their corrected wage statements if the employer typically provides wage statements to employees in an electronic format.

Other Types of Cures (Including Wages): Generally, a cure requires the employer to correct the violation alleged by the employee, be in compliance with the underlying Labor Code sections identified in the PAGA notice, and make each aggrieved employee whole. An employee owed wages or business expenses is made whole when the employee has received:

• All payments owed under the applicable Labor Code sections going back three years from the date of the PAGA notice;
• 7% interest on all payments;
• Any liquidated damages required by law; and
• Reasonable attorney’s fees and costs as determined by the LWDA.

To be eligible to participate in the “small employer” cure process administered by LWDA an employer must have employed less than 100 employees total during the one-year period before a PAGA notice is filed. All exempt and non-exempt workers employed at any time during this period are counted, whether currently or formerly employed or employed on a temporary, seasonal, or intermittent basis. The total number of employees is not limited to those employed within California but also includes all individuals employed by the employer outside of the state. For staffing agencies, the total number of employees employed is not limited to only those employees placed with the client employer at which an employee who files a PAGA notice worked.

An eligible employer must submit a proposal to cure alleged violations within 33 days after it receives a PAGA notice. An employer is not required to complete the cure actions within this time, but it is helpful if the employer promptly begins conducting audits of its records and workplace policies if it does not already regularly do so. The proposal must be submitted to LWDA using the “Employer Cure Notice or Proposal to Cure” link on the PAGA Filing Portal. There is a $75 filing fee when submitting a cure proposal. The employer may, but is not required to, send a copy of its proposal to the employee. The employee will be provided an opportunity to respond to a cure proposal if LWDA schedules a conference (see Question 14).

After receiving a cure proposal, the LWDA will review it to determine whether (1) the employer is eligible for the process, (2) the proposal is timely and properly submitted, and (3) the proposal is sufficient to meet the requirements of a cure for the types of violations addressed. The LWDA has 14 days to determine whether a proposal is sufficient for purposes of scheduling a conference. The LWDA will schedule a conference with the parties if necessary to inquire into or evaluate the sufficiency of the cure proposal. If the employer’s proposal is insufficient to cure the violations alleged or otherwise defective (for example, the proposal is untimely submitted or the employer employed 100 or more employees during the one-year period before the PAGA notice was filed), the LWDA will notify the employer that it is not scheduling a conference. If the LWDA does not schedule a conference, the employee may file a PAGA lawsuit after the 65-day period for LCO to give notice of an investigation expires if no such notice is provided.

If the LWDA schedules a conference, the conference will be held within 30 days after LWDA issues a scheduling notice. The notice issued by the LWDA to the parties will provide the date of the conference and other information relevant to the conference process.

The purpose of the conference is to determine whether a sufficient cure is possible for the claims at issue. Before the conference both the employer and employee will be required to provide the LWDA, and each other, a preconference statement to aid in the conference process. The employer will be required to provide further information regarding the measures it proposes to take to cure the violations it is addressing. The employee will have an opportunity to respond and state their position regarding the employer’s proposal.

During the conference an attorney with LWDA’s PAGA Unit will meet with the parties to discuss the case. Conferences may be conducted in person or by videoconference and may last the entire day. The employee and a representative of the employer must attend with their respective counsel, if represented. The LWDA will seek further information about the nature of the employee’s allegations and the employer’s payroll and workplace practices to best determine what actions are required to cure the violations alleged.

If the LWDA determines a sufficient cure is possible, it will issue a “cure plan” to the parties describing the actions the employer must take. The cure actions must be completed within 45 days after the conference.

Yes. After an employer has taken the actions described in a cure plan issued by the LWDA following a conference with the parties, the employer must submit to both LWDA and the employee a sworn notice describing the actions taken, as well as other records that may be specified in the cure plan. The LWDA will review the materials submitted by the employer and issue a determination within 20 days verifying whether the cure actions have been completed. If the LWDA finds an employer cured a violation and the employee disagrees with that determination, the employee may submit a dispute and request for hearing using the PAGA Filing Portal.

LCO conducts cure hearings when an employee disputes a determination an employer has cured a violation. If LCO finds the violations have been cured, the employee may appeal that determination to superior court.

Wage statement violations can be cured with other violations through the small employer cure process (see Questions 13 and 14). However, if a wage statement violation is the only type of violation an employer seeks to cure, an employer of any size may submit a notice to LWDA that the employer has cured the violation. The notice must be submitted to LWDA using “Employer Cure Notice or Proposal to Cure” link available on the PAGA Filing Portal within 33 days of the postmark date of the employee’s PAGA notice. The notice also must be sent to the employee by certified mail.

Unlike the small employer cure process, this separate process for curing only wage statement violations requires the employer complete the cure actions within 33 days of the PAGA notice postmark date. The cure notice submitted to LWDA and sent to the employee must describe the actions taken by the employer to cure the violation and should include evidence of the actions taken. (See Question 11 for the requirements for curing wage statement violations.)

LWDA will review the employer’s cure notice and issue a determination whether the violation is cured. If the violation is cured, the employee cannot include it in any PAGA lawsuit the employee later may file in court.

Yes. An employee may respond to an employer’s wage statement cure notice to dispute that the employer has cured the violation alleged. The employee should do so as soon as possible. The employee’s notice of a dispute must be submitted to LWDA using the “Employee Cure Dispute” link on the PAGA Filing Portal and sent to the employer by certified mail. The employee’s notice must specifically describe the grounds on which the employee disputes the employer has cured the violation.

When an employee files a notice of dispute, the LWDA has 17 days to review the matter and give written notice of its decision to the parties. If LWDA determines the employer has not cured the violation, it may give the employer up to three additional business days to do so.

The early evaluation conference procedure is a court-administered process available after a PAGA lawsuit has been filed and the employer has been served with a summons and a copy of the employee’s court complaint. This process is distinct from the administrative cure processes LWDA administers.

The responses below are provided for informational purposes only. Court rules and processes may vary and will take precedence over any conflicting guidance herein. Please be sure to check with the court where your action is pending and consult any applicable Rules of Court or local court rules.

Who can request early evaluation?

Any employer subject to a PAGA lawsuit can request referral to early evaluation.

When does an employer need to request early evaluation?

To request early evaluation, an employer must file its request with the court at the same time or before it files its response to the employee’s complaint that includes the PAGA claim or when the employer otherwise first appears in the action. An employer requesting early evaluation also can request the court stay the lawsuit while the early evaluation process occurs.

What happens after an employer files a request for early evaluation?

Generally, after an employer files a request for early evaluation the court will issue an order referring the parties to early evaluation. This process will be overseen by a neutral evaluator and is intended to facilitate early resolution of the PAGA claims in court.

Upon being referred to the early evaluation process, both the employer and employee will be required to submit to the neutral evaluator information about the claims at issue. Within 21 days after the court orders the parties to early evaluation, the employer must file a statement identifying the alleged violations it intends to cure and the violations it disputes, including the facts and evidence upon which it relies to dispute alleged violations. Within 21 days after the employer submits its statement, the employee also must submit a statement that provides (1) the factual basis for each claim asserted, (2) the amount of penalties sought for each claim, (3) the amount of attorney’s fees incurred, (4) a settlement demand, and (5) the basis for accepting or not accepting any cure proposal by the employer.

A conference with the neutral evaluator must occur within 70 days after the court orders the parties to early evaluation. If the neutral evaluator accepts the employer’s plan for curing any, or all, of the violations alleged, the employer will have the opportunity to complete the cure actions and demonstrate the cure has been accomplished.

If the parties and neutral evaluator agree the violations have been cured, the parties will prepare a joint statement to be filed with the court regarding the terms of their agreement. The terms of a cure agreement are subject to court approval, and must be submitted to LWDA for review, in the same manner as proposed settlements of PAGA lawsuits (see Question 19).

If, after performing the cure actions either the neutral evaluator or the employee disagrees the cure has been completed, the employer can file a request with the court to approve the actions it has taken as curing the alleged violation.

Yes, the court must independently review and approve PAGA settlements to make sure the resolution is fair. LWDA also is entitled to review proposed settlement agreements, and the parties are required to submit a proposed settlement to LWDA using the PAGA Filing Portal at the same time it is submitted to the court.

A PAGA settlement must provide relief that is fair, reasonable, adequate, and consistent with the goals of PAGA. The purpose of civil penalties recoverable under PAGA is to encourage employers to correct past violations and to stop current and future violations.

Settlement terms for health and safety violations must be at least as effective as the protections or remedies provided under state and federal laws.

LWDA may object to a proposed settlement or intervene in a case if the settlement does not satisfy PAGA’s purposes. Certain characteristics of a proposed settlement can raise red flags indicating the PAGA settlement may not be fair, reasonable, and adequate. Examples include, but are not limited to, settlement agreements that:

• Release claims that are not included in the employee’s PAGA notice;
• Designate the settlement or terms of the settlement agreement confidential;
• Revert settlement funds to employers if not fully paid out to aggrieved employees;
• Do not correct, in whole or in part, violations identified in the employee’s PAGA notice;
• Fail to justify the settlement amount and discounts given to any claim(s); and
• Substantial discounts to claims also pending in other PAGA lawsuits that would be extinguished by operation of the settlement.