According to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, The Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) allows employees with claims to file lawsuits to obtain civil penalties on behalf of themselves, and possibly other employees and the State of California for Labor Code violations. The Labor Code has various requirements for payment of wages, overtime hours, rest breaks, and other rules. Persons who pursue PAGA cases must follow the requirements specified in Labor Code Sections 2698 – 2699.5.SB 836, which became effective on June 27, 2016, made important changes in PAGA requirements.
The Law Offices of Nicholas D. Heimlich helps employers to respond to PAGA cases. The PAGA cases must be filed online, and a copy sent via certified mail to the employer. The notice of the claim should explain the basis of the claim and the damages that the employee suffered. The claim filing is an opportunity for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency to decide if they want to take on the case and pursue it for the affected employees. If the Agency does not take up the case after 60 days, then generally, the injured employees can then pursue their claims in Court.
How does someone respond to a notice that an employee intends to seek a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)?
The employer should carefully review the employee’s proposed claim. A simple first step is to gather all the relevant documents for the employees mentioned in the claim. So, if Jane Smith is submitting the notice of a claim, then all records of Jane Smith should be gathered.
An attorney should be consulted when any employee makes a claim for wages, penalties, or the PAGA notice. Explore our detailed blog post on PAGA to gain a deeper understanding of how the Private Attorneys General Act empowers employees and the implications for employers.
The records of Jane Smith would include the following items, which should be for the entire employment period of the employee: 1) All paycheck stubs, 2) W2s for the employees, 3) all Employment Agreements, 4) Any documents signed by the employee, 5) all timecards for the affects employee, 6) all communications with the employee (especially regarding wages, vacation, PTO, benefits, etc), 7) all documents regarding employee expenses.
There may be additional documents of the employee. It is better to gather more documents than less. Gain a better understanding of proper payroll practices and their legal implications by visiting our detailed blog on payroll deductions.
After I have gathered the employee claim, what is the next step?
After gathering all of these documents, forward them to an attorney who is familiar with employment law, such as Nick Heimlich. After getting the claim notice from the employee and all the documents from the employer (including all items signed by the employee, etc. as detailed above), I can help review what are the potential claims or exposure of the employer.
After a review of the relevant records and a consultation with the employer, then a potential response can be prepared to respond to the claim notice. The hope of this claim notice is either to show that any violations have been fixed or that there are no violations regarding the employee.
What happens if the state does not take up the case of the aggrieved employee?
In my experience, most of the time the Labor and Workforce Development Agency does not take up the case. In those cases, the employee files a lawsuit (if the case cannot be settled). Then, the employer must review and respond to the lawsuit.
