Ballot Initiative Will Give Californians Option to Repeal and Replace PAGA

On Nov. 5, Californians will vote whether to preserve the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) in its present form or replace it with a proposed law, the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act (FPEAA). We’ve gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other outlets.

PAGA gives aggrieved employees a simplified and relatively inexpensive process for filing a representative lawsuit. PAGA has been criticized as enriching lawyers while subjecting many businesses to costly suits over technical violations. The ballot initiative is the result of nearly two years of employer efforts.

(SUPPORT) The initiative’s supporters argue that employees benefit more when actions are brought directly by the state—instead of by trial lawyers—and that PAGA has resulted in needlessly high litigation and settlement costs for employers for two decades.

(OPPOSE) If voters repeal PAGA, it will set back the movement for worker justice and leave millions of workers without adequate tools to fight labor injustices in court, ballot opponents say. PAGA allows wronged workers to take their employer to court on behalf of the state of California for violations in their workplaces, effectively allowing them to act as private attorneys general.




https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/employment-law-compliance/ballot-option-repeal-replace-paga