BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Senator Tony Mendoza, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2898 Hearing Date: June 29,
2016
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|Author: |Committee on Labor and Employment |
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|Version: |March 1, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Brandon Seto |
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Subject: Private Attorneys General Act of 2004
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature extend the window for the Labor and
Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) to review and investigate
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims before a civil
action may be filed?
ANALYSIS
Existing law
Allows, under PAGA, for a private citizen to pursue
civil penalties on behalf of the LWDA provided that they
inform the LWDA of the alleged violations of the Labor Code
and that the LWDA does not pursue the allegations or does
not issue a citation within certain time periods (Labor
Code §2698-2699.5).
Allows aggrieved employees to seek civil penalties for
violations that they personally suffered and/or for
violations suffered by other current or former employees
(Labor Code §2699).
Requires that the LWDA notify an aggrieved employee and
his/her employer if it intends to investigate an alleged
violation within 30 days of an employee providing written
AB 2898 (Committee on Labor and Employment) Page 2
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notice of an alleged violation (Labor Code §2699.3).
Requires that, upon receipt of notice that LWDA will not
issue a citation, or if no citation is issued by LWDA
within 158 days, the aggrieved employee may commence a
civil action under PAGA (Labor Code §2699.3).
This Bill
Extends the period of time from 30 days to 45 days
allowed for the LWDA to notify an aggrieved employee and
his/her employer if it intends to investigate an alleged
violation.
Extends the period of time from 158 days to 173 days
upon which, if the LWDA does not issue a citation, the
aggrieved employee may commence a civil action under PAGA.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
According to the author, the Governor states that due to lack
of resources, less than one percent of all PAGA cases are
reviewed or investigated. The volume of PAGA cases is as high
as 635 notices per month. In addition to statutory changes,
the Governor's budget proposes 10 additional positions within
the LWDA and the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to
"stabilize and improve the handling" of PAGA cases. To
complement these efforts, this bill would extend the timelines
for the LWDA to review alleged PAGA claims. For example, the
LWDA would have 45 days to decide whether to investigate a
case. Related timeframes for the investigation of PAGA claims
would be similarly increased.
2. Proponent Arguments :
None received.
3. Opponent Arguments :
AB 2898 (Committee on Labor and Employment) Page 3
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None received.
4. Prior Legislation :
AB 1506 (Hernández) Chapter 455, Statutes of 2015 - amended
PAGA to provide an employer with the right to cure a violation
of failing to provide its employees with a wage statement
containing the inclusive dates of the pay period and the name
and address of the employer. This bill was enacted as a
response to concerns about PAGA claims being filed for alleged
technical violations of an employer's obligation to provide
accurate wage statements.
SUPPORT
None on file
OPPOSITION
None on file
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