Seventy-two percent of California voters support reforming the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) to provide California regulators with increased authority to enforce employee labor complaints, while still allowing workers to bring claims through litigation if regulators cannot resolve them satisfactorily, according to a new study.
The study, released June 3 by the Fix PAGA Coalition, revealed support for reform is bipartisan, with 84% of Democrats, 64% of independents and 56% of Republicans supporting a reform proposal.
Even after hearing both supporter and opponent messaging, 64% of voters continue to support the PAGA reform proposal that is eligible for the California November 2024 ballot.
Fix PAGA
More than 120 organizations and businesses, including the California Chamber of Commerce, have joined the Fix PAGA coalition to reform PAGA.
“There is near universal consensus that PAGA is broken and not working for workers or employers,” said Jennifer Barrera, CalChamber president and CEO. “We need sensible reforms to fix this broken system. Our coalition continues to have conversations with key stakeholders to find a better, fairer way for workers and employers.”
The coalition, which includes nonprofits, community and disability advocates, large and small businesses, and others across California, is advocating for an end to the lawsuit-first class-action approach to resolving employee labor claims.
Instead, the coalition supports expanding existing Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) processes that are proven to resolve employee claims faster and provide workers with more money. The DLSE has a dedicated funding source — paid by employers — to expand staff and resources to handle employee claims.
PAGA Harms
A report this year found that labor claims filed under PAGA take twice as long to resolve and provide workers only one-third of the compensation compared to employment claims reviewed by state regulators.
The report also found that since 2013 there have been nearly $10 billion in PAGA court case awards, but due to significant attorney commissions, workers receive only a small portion of these awards.
PAGA hurts virtually every industry and employer in California, including nonprofits, local governments, family-run businesses and others.
The coalition is supporting the already-qualified PAGA reform ballot measure, which is eligible for the November 2024 ballot. At the same time, the coalition is open to a legislative solution to avoid the need for a costly ballot campaign.
For more information, visit fixpaga.com/our-supporters.
