PAGA
California PAGA Rulemaking: New Notice, Cure, and Settlement Procedures
Updated
On February 6, 2026, the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) filed a proposed rulemaking under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA), proposing to adopt a new set of regulations in title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. The proposed regulations would govern the administrative processes that follow a PAGA notice, including the required content of notices, the cure procedures for employers, and the parties’ reporting obligations after a PAGA lawsuit is filed. The rulemaking is in the proposal stage: the public comment period has closed, and the Agency has not yet adopted the regulations.
Background
PAGA, codified at Labor Code section 2698 and following, allows an employee to sue a current or former employer to recover civil penalties for Labor Code violations that otherwise could be recovered only by the state. Labor Code section 2699 authorizes the Agency to adopt regulations to implement the Act. Before suing, an employee must file a PAGA notice with the Agency and the employer describing the alleged violations under section 2699.3.
The Legislature substantially amended PAGA in 2024 through Assembly Bill No. 2288 and Senate Bill No. 92, tightening standing, expanding the violations subject to early resolution, and increasing the Agency’s oversight role. The Agency says there currently are no regulations implementing these administrative procedures, and it filed this package to fill that gap.
These are proposed regulations. They take effect only if the Agency adopts them and the Office of Administrative Law approves them.
What the Regulations Would Do
The proposed regulations would standardize the PAGA notice. Under proposed California Code of Regulations, title 8, section 17420, an employee would use a prescribed form and describe the facts and theories supporting each alleged Labor Code violation, along with a signed certification that the claims are not filed for an improper purpose and have legal and evidentiary support. Proposed section 17450 sets parallel requirements for notices alleging health and safety violations.
Proposed section 17415 targets filing practices the Agency views as abusive. It would impose additional notice and certification requirements on “high-frequency” filers, defined as attorneys or law firms that filed 200 or more PAGA notices in the preceding 12-month period, and would let the Agency designate “vexatious filers” subject to prefiling screening, after notice and an opportunity to be heard.
The regulations also would build out the two administrative cure processes added by the 2024 reforms: a small-employer process for employers with fewer than 100 employees (proposed sections 17430 through 17439.5) and a streamlined wage-statement cure process available to all employers under Labor Code section 226 (proposed sections 17440 through 17443). These sections would set deadlines, conference procedures, and the Agency’s review of completed cures.
The Agency proposes the first regulations implementing PAGA’s administrative machinery, prescribing what a PAGA notice must contain, how employers may cure alleged violations before litigation, and what a plaintiff must submit to the Agency when reporting a lawsuit or proposed settlement.
Settlement Reporting and Procedure
Proposed sections 17460 through 17463 would clarify a PAGA plaintiff’s obligations to submit complaints, orders, judgments, and proposed settlements to the Agency. Proposed section 17461 would require a settling plaintiff to submit supporting materials, such as the approval motion and declarations, give the Agency at least 45 days to review a proposed settlement, and provide notice to other employees with pending PAGA claims against the same employer.
On the procedural timeline, notice of this rulemaking was published in the California Regulatory Notice Register on February 6, 2026. The written comment period closed March 23, 2026, and the Agency scheduled a public hearing for Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom.
What This Means for You
The Agency has proposed, but not yet adopted, its first regulations governing PAGA’s prelitigation notice, cure, and settlement-reporting procedures. The rulemaking reaches wage-and-hour and workplace-safety disputes brought under PAGA and the parties, counsel, and employers involved in them. The comment period has closed and the proposal now awaits the Agency’s action.
I write these summaries as general information about developments in California employment law. They are not legal advice and don’t create a mediator–client relationship. For guidance on a specific matter, consult a qualified attorney.