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What is the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)?

Apr 23, 2024

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.

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Nick provided me sage advice with my issue. He was efficient, thoughtful, and good natured about the whole process.
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I recently received legal advice from Nick and he was very professional and easy to talk to. He gave us great advice and I would definitely use him again if needed. Thank you Nick!
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Nick was excellent! Very knowledgeable, asks great questions, and quickly understood the situation and was able to give great advice. I so appreciated his time, insight, and expertise in assisting with our situation. Highly recommend!
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Mr. Heimlich has been very responsive to my case and provided extraordinarily useful advice. Thank you!
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Nick Heimlich was very professional and knowledgeable in my case. He left a lot of the worrisome I had in my case to the expert and was very good at what he does. I will recommend Nick to anyone who needs council!Much appreciative,Mario
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This was the first time ever needing a lawyer for something, I was a bit frantic and overwhelmed with everything going on, but Nick and his team were very professional and honest, and made me feel at ease about my case. They were even professional and cool with the opposing attorney even though she was being unprofessional at times. In the end, they were able to settle my case and bring me a satisfying outcome. If you're ever in a bind and need a business lawyer, I highly recommend Nick and his team.
Jay Kamdar
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I am an officer at a company that provides B2B Demand Generation services to marketing and sales. Over a number of years, I've worked with Nick Heimlich for legal services. He has advised me well and helped to represent the company in multiple legal disputes including in Court. I am very satisfied with his work and highly recommend him.
Rami Gideoni
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I needed some legal consultation and per recommendation I received, I have approached Nicholas. He got back to me quickly and provided great service, he was patient, professional and knowledgeable. His advise is much appreciated, it cleared the situation, draw the next steps to follow and placed my mind to peace .I would definitely recommend his service.
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Nick answered all of my questions with direct and concise answers to my situation. Thank you!
Abe Honest
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Mr Heimlich was very professional kind and knowledgeable when I give him a call. I was calling to hire an attorney for an tenant and landlord dispute. I had a particular issue that Mr Heimlich took time to completely listen to me. unfortunately the area I needed help was not an area that Mr Nick practiced. but he was not hesitant to give me some leads and direct me to the right place. he's a man of character and cares about what he does, I can only imagine his level of excellence in his area of expertise. he's a man of great character and I would recommend him for anyone to give him a call and talk to him. thank you very much Nick. thank you for caring .
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I entered into a membership contract that had unreasonable cancellation requirements. I went to Nick through my company’s employee assistance program. Nick did thorough research and found that the contract term exceeded term limits allowed by California law. As a result, I was able to cancel the contract without any penalty. I was very satisfied with the outcome.
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He wasn't able to take me as a client but had about 10 mins so he told me tell me and just from that i was able to be clear and did win from really dishonest people. So i am thank you telling the truth gets it's own reward
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Nick was very helpful when I needed assistance dissolving an LLC. Not only did he create the appropriate documentation, but he educated me on the process. His guidance was invaluable, and everything resolved smoothly. I would certainly use his services again in the future.
Bonnie Nevitt
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My family cannot thank Nick enough. We needed a business litigation attorney for a lawsuit that was going to trial, he not only took the time to understand the complexities of the case but was able to convey that to the judge. He was able to get us amazing results. Hands down the best attorney we have ever worked with.
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