The California Labor Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) recently refreshed its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims processing in light of the recent legislative reforms.

As we reported here, California enacted A.B. 2288 and S.B. 92 this past summer, bringing long-overdue reforms to PAGA.  The new legislation applies to PAGA notices and any resulting actions filed on or after June 19, 2024.

The updated FAQ page now addresses several aspects of these changes, including standing requirements, the expanded cure process, updated penalty allocations, and the new early evaluation conferences.  Notably, the FAQs clarify that after October 1, 2024, the LWDA may set a conference to evaluate the sufficiency of the employer’s proposed cures. 

The PAGA reform legislation broadened the types of violations that can be cured for notices filed on or after June 19, 2024. The LWDA’s authority to investigate claims upon receipt of an employee’s initial PAGA letter and prior to their filing suit is nothing new – though it was discretion that the LWDA seldom acted upon. Thus, it remains to be seen if the LWDA will begin investigating more employers’ cure notices.

Separately, under the new PAGA scheme, employers with 100+ employees and smaller employers who wish to avail themselves of the process may request an early evaluation conference and a stay of court proceedings when served with a summons. This process, which will be overseen by a neutral evaluator, is intended to facilitate early evaluation and resolution of the dispute before full-blown litigation commences.  As we have previously observed, this option may be a useful tool in the toolbox of an employer wishing to learn more about the true focus of a plaintiff who has alleged everything but the kitchen sink – as PAGA encourages plaintiffs to do. Despite these FAQs, much is still unknown about how the new reform PAGA provisions will play out.  Stay tuned.  As the new provisions continue to be rolled out, we will monitor and report on key developments in this space.

Posted in California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, California Labor & Employment Law, California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Class Action, Class Actions, Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), New and Proposed Laws and Legislation, PAGA, Wage and Hour
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Photo of Tony Oncidi Tony Oncidi

Anthony J. Oncidi is the Co-Chair Emeritus of the Labor & Employment Law Department and heads the West Coast Labor & Employment group in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Tony represents employers and management in all aspects of labor relations and employment law…

Anthony J. Oncidi is the Co-Chair Emeritus of the Labor & Employment Law Department and heads the West Coast Labor & Employment group in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Tony represents employers and management in all aspects of labor relations and employment law, including litigation and preventive counseling, wage and hour matters, including class actions, wrongful termination, employee discipline, Title VII and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, executive employment contract disputes, sexual harassment training and investigations, workplace violence, drug testing and privacy issues, Sarbanes-Oxley claims and employee raiding and trade secret protection. A substantial portion of Tony’s practice involves the defense of employers in large class actions, employment discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination litigation in state and federal court as well as arbitration proceedings, including FINRA matters.

Tony is recognized as a leading lawyer by such highly respected publications and organizations as the Los Angeles Daily Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, and Chambers USA, which gives him the highest possible rating (“Band 1”) for Labor & Employment.  According to Chambers USA, clients say Tony is “brilliant at what he does… He is even keeled, has a high emotional IQ, is a great legal writer and orator, and never gives up.” Other clients report:  “Tony has an outstanding reputation” and he is “smart, cost effective and appropriately aggressive.” Tony is hailed as “outstanding,” particularly for his “ability to merge top-shelf lawyerly advice with pragmatic business acumen.” He is highly respected in the industry, with other commentators lauding him as a “phenomenal strategist” and “one of the top employment litigators in the country.”

“Tony is the author of the treatise titled Employment Discrimination Depositions (Juris Pub’g 2020; www.jurispub.com), co-author of Proskauer on Privacy (PLI 2020), and, since 1990, has been a regular columnist for the official publication of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

Tony has been a featured guest on Fox 11 News and CBS News in Los Angeles. He has been interviewed and quoted by leading national media outlets such as The National Law Journal, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, and Newsweek and Time magazines. Tony is a frequent speaker on employment law topics for large and small groups of employers and their counsel, including the Society for Human Resource Management (“SHRM”), PIHRA, the National CLE Conference, National Business Institute, the Employment Round Table of Southern California (Board Member), the Council on Education in Management, the Institute for Corporate Counsel, the State Bar of California, the California Continuing Education of the Bar Program and the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills Bar Associations. He has testified as an expert witness regarding wage and hour issues as well as the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and has served as a faculty member of the National Employment Law Institute. He has served as an arbitrator in an employment discrimination matter.

Tony is an appointed Hearing Examiner for the Los Angeles Police Commission Board of Rights and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law and a guest lecturer at USC Law School and a guest lecturer at UCLA Law School.

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Photo of Sehreen Ladak Sehreen Ladak

Sehreen Ladak is an associate in the Labor & Employment Department. She represents clients in a wide range of employment matters, including state and federal litigation, arbitration, and class actions on wage and hour, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. Sehreen has experience managing…

Sehreen Ladak is an associate in the Labor & Employment Department. She represents clients in a wide range of employment matters, including state and federal litigation, arbitration, and class actions on wage and hour, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. Sehreen has experience managing every aspect of litigation, including taking and defending depositions, arguing discovery and dispositive motions, and leading trials and labor arbitrations.

Sehreen also advises clients on various employment issues, including wage and hour compliance, onboarding procedures, employment and separation agreements, handbooks, and workplace accommodations.

In addition, Sehreen has experience in evaluating labor and employment issues in connection with corporate transactions and partners with her colleagues in corporate and executive benefits departments to provide the highest level of service. She also regularly leads employee trainings on workplace conduct and has been published in trade journals on a variety of employment law topics.

Sehreen’s clients come from a broad spectrum of industries, such as transportation, entertainment, healthcare, financial services, and retail. She leverages her experience to provide highly efficient, yet thoughtfully bespoke solutions to address her clients’ unique needs.

During law school at USC, Sehreen was the Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice’sExecutive Submissions Editor and served as a judicial extern for an administrative judge at the E.E.O.C.

Sehreen was selected to be a Protégée for Proskauer’s Women Sponsorship Program, an initiative for high performing midlevel lawyers that champions emerging leaders. She also serves as a member of the Firm’s Associate Council and Asian Lawyer Affinity Group.

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Photo of Jonathan Slowik Jonathan Slowik

Jonathan Slowik represents employers in all aspects of litigation, with a particular emphasis in wage and hour class, collective, and representative actions, including those under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). He has defended dozens of class, collective, and representative actions in state…

Jonathan Slowik represents employers in all aspects of litigation, with a particular emphasis in wage and hour class, collective, and representative actions, including those under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). He has defended dozens of class, collective, and representative actions in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout California and beyond. In addition to his core wage and hour work, Jonathan has defended employers in single-plaintiff discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases, and in labor arbitrations. Jonathan also regularly advises clients on a wide range of compliance issues and on employment issues arising in corporate transactions.

Jonathan has deep experience representing clients in the retail and hospitality industries, but has assisted all types of clients, including those in the health care, telecommunications, finance, media, entertainment, professional services, manufacturing, sports, nonprofit, and information technology industries.

Jonathan is a frequent contributor to Proskauer’s California Employment Law Blog and has written extensively about PAGA on various platforms. He has been published or quoted in Law360, the Daily Journal, the California Lawyer, the Northern California Record, and the UCLA Law Review.

Jonathan received his B.A. from the University of Southern California in 2007, magna cum laude, and J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2012, where he was a managing editor of the UCLA Law Review.

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