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 yesterday by the Fix PAGA Coalition, revealed that 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.
More than 120 organizations and businesses, including the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber), have joined the Fix PAGA coalition to advocate for reforms. “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 includes nonprofits, community and disability advocates, large and small businesses across California. It aims to end the lawsuit-first class-action approach in resolving employee labor claims. Instead, it 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.
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 noted that since 2013 there have been nearly $10 billion in PAGA court case awards; however, due to significant attorney commissions, workers receive only a small portion of these awards. According to the coalition's findings, PAGA impacts virtually every industry in California including nonprofits, local governments, family-run businesses among others.
The coalition supports an already-qualified PAGA reform ballot measure eligible for the November 2024 ballot but remains open to a legislative solution as an alternative.
For more information on their efforts visit https://fixpaga.com/our-supporters/.
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