This CLE course will advise employment counsel on claims brought under California's Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) and the impact of new legislative changes affecting claims made on or after June 19, 2024. The panel will discuss the reach and limitations of representative claims brought under PAGA including violations giving rise to PAGA claims, the procedural requirements involved in bringing a PAGA action, standing issues under PAGA, the effect of arbitration agreements, the relationship between PAGA and class claims, potential defenses and new employer cure provisions, and civil penalty exposure. The panel will also address best practices for preventing, defending, and resolving PAGA claims.
PAGA authorizes current and former employees who claim to have experienced Labor Code violations to act as private attorneys general and to recover civil penalties on behalf of the state of California, themselves, and other current and former employees. For years, this has resulted in a steady stream of representative PAGA lawsuits each year, with hundreds of millions of dollars in potential penalties at stake.
However, on July 1, 2024, two new bills significantly reforming PAGA were signed into law that affect PAGA claims filed on or after June 19, 2024. The new laws include, among other changes, more stringent standing requirements, expanded employer cure provisions, and limits on PAGA penalties in certain situations.
Employers' counsel must be aware of the potential, significant civil penalty exposure arising from PAGA claims as well as expanded opportunities to "cure" certain violations. Employees' counsel will need to understand PAGA's administrative exhaustion and more stringent standing requirements, how to undertake discovery in potentially sprawling actions, and how PAGA actions have been impacted by the new legislation and recent cases.
Listen as our authoritative panel discusses PAGA and the impact the recent legislative reform will have on employers and employees. The panel will address the elements of establishing a claim and offer best practices for employers to mitigate risk and exposure to PAGA lawsuits.
