The Ultimate Thorn in Your Side: PAGA Reform
Christopher Padalinski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Maryam Maleki, Esq.
The Maryam Maleki Commentaries
In 2004, California enacted the Private Attorneys’ General Act (PAGA), a first-in-the-nation mechanism to expand the enforcement of the state’s robust Labor Code protections for employees. Proponents of PAGA celebrated its objective to allow California employees to seek significant penalties against employers by “stepping into the shoes” of the state. Over the last two decades, employers in California have endured an onslaught of lawsuits bringing PAGA claims, seeking penalties with little to no due process guardrails. Defending PAGA claims significantly impacted the “cost of doing business” in California, and, as a result, reform efforts emerged, led by a handful of businesses, non-profits, social justice advocates, and family-run farms comprising the “Fix PAGA Coalition.” After successfully gaining sufficient signatures to place a PAGA reform measure on the ballot, the coalition engaged in direct negotiations to reform PAGA with the California legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom, culminating in the enactment of amendments to PAGA signed into law on July 1, 2024, and taking effect as of June 19, 2024.
Updates include:
- PAGA Plaintiffs Can Only Represent Aggrieved Employees for Violations They Suffered
- The One-Year Limitations Period Is Set
- The Manageability Argument is Strengthened
Employers can avoid penalties in certain circumstances:
- Good Faith Dispute Eliminates PAGA Penalties
- No Stacking is allowed of certain violations
Reduced penalties are now a possibility:
- ‘Subsequent’ Penalties Limited
- Wage Statement Penalties Capped
- Employers Can Pay Weekly Without Doubling PAGA Penalties
Caps have been introduced in two circumstances if employers take ‘all reasonable steps’ to comply with the law:
- 15% cap if all reasonable steps taken before receiving a PAGA notice or a Request for Personnel Records
- 30% cap if all reasonable steps taken within 60 days after receiving a PAGA notice
Curing violations and making employees ‘whole’ may avoid litigation on certain claims and large employers can request an early evaluation conference.
Maryam Maleki specializes in labor and employment law, providing legal counsel and litigation services to unionized and union-free employers in various aspects of employment law, including wage and hour class actions, whistleblower suits, wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and complex labor and employment matters. Specifically, Maryam defends employers nationwide in proceedings before state and federal courts, state and federal governmental agencies including the Civil Rights Department, National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the California Labor Commissioner. Additionally, Maryam counsels employers on a range of workplace issues including recruitment and hiring, development of handbooks and employment policies, disability accommodations and leaves of absence, workforce reductions, investigations, audits, and mitigating risk associated with employee terminations.
Learn more at https://hacklerflynnlaw.com/portfolio-items/maryam-pec/.
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