Reform California Chairman Carl DeMaio and a coalition of small business and worker advocates are supporting the Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act. The state measure aims to repeal the Private Attorney Generals Act (PAGA).
According to a Reform California press release, PAGA, which was passed in 2004, provided private labor law attorneys the right to act as de facto state law enforcement agents in lawsuits against small businesses that allegedly violate labor laws.
"PAGA has been a disaster for California and is being abused by politicians, unscrupulous lawyers, and special interests to shake down our state’s already struggling businesses—the financial losses are mounting, and jobs are being destroyed," DeMaio said in the press release.
Before the act’s passage, employees could not bring civil actions in court to enforce non-monetary provisions in the Labor Code, according to the California Business and Industrial Alliance (CBIA). As in every other state, labor code violations in California were handled by the State Labor Commission. However, PAGA was supported by a group of trial attorneys who promised it would lessen the State Labor Commission’s load while generating revenue for the state through commission payments from settlements negotiated by private lawsuits.
"Now twenty years later, greedy trial lawyers are making fortunes by abusing the flawed law while workers and businesses pay the price," DeMaio said. "If we pass the Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act, we stand a chance at reversing the destruction of jobs and businesses in California and setting the state back in the right direction of attracting business and making it possible to live here comfortably."
According to the California Secretary of State website, the measure to repeal PAGA qualified for the 2024 ballot in July 2022.