For two decades, California's Private Attorneys General Act, known as PAGA, has been one of the most powerful legal tools available to workers in the state. It allows employees to step into the shoes of the state itself, sue employers for Labor Code violations, collect civil penalties, and share those penalties with other affected workers and the government. It has been called everything from a worker's best friend to the most feared statute in California employment law.

In July 2024, Governor Newsom signed the most sweeping PAGA overhaul since the law was enacted in 2004. Assembly Bill 2288 and Senate Bill 92 reformed the statute in ways that changed both how workers file claims and what they can recover. Two years later, those changes are now fully embedded in California litigation. If you have experienced wage theft, unpaid overtime, denied meal breaks, or other Labor Code violations, understanding the reformed PAGA is essential to protecting your rights in 2026.

What PAGA Is and Why It Matters

PAGA, codified at California Labor Code Section 2698 et seq., allows an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action on behalf of themselves and other current or former employees to recover civil penalties for violations of the California Labor Code.^[1] Before PAGA, the only entity that could collect these civil penalties was the state itself. PAGA deputized workers as private attorneys general, enabling them to enforce the Labor Code when the state lacked the resources to do so.

The law covers a sweeping range of violations: unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime, meal and rest break violations, inaccurate wage statements, failure to reimburse business expenses, misclassification of employees, tip theft, and dozens of other Labor Code provisions. And critically, a successful PAGA plaintiff can recover not just their own damages but penalties on behalf of every similarly situated employee at the same company, which is why single PAGA cases have produced settlements worth tens of millions of dollars.^[2]

What Changed Under AB 2288 and SB 92

Governor Newsom signed AB 2288 and SB 92 on July 1, 2024. The reforms apply to any PAGA notice submitted on or after June 19, 2024, and are not retroactive for earlier claims.^[3] The changes were negotiated to head off a ballot initiative that would have repealed PAGA entirely. The result is a statute that remains powerful for workers while incorporating new procedures designed to reward employers who fix problems early.

Standing is now stricter. Previously, an employee who suffered even one Labor Code violation could pursue PAGA penalties for any Labor Code violation at the same employer, even ones the employee never personally experienced. Under AB 2288, a plaintiff must now personally experience each Labor Code violation they are pursuing on a representative basis, and that violation must have occurred within the one year limitation period prior to the PAGA notice.^[4]

Workers receive a larger share of penalties. The reform increased the portion of PAGA penalties going directly to aggrieved employees from 25 percent to 35 percent. The state's share through the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) decreased from 75 percent to 65 percent.^[5] For a worker, this means a greater direct financial recovery from every dollar of penalties imposed.

Injunctive relief is now available. For the first time, AB 2288 explicitly authorizes courts to grant injunctive relief in PAGA cases. A court can now order an employer to actually change its practices, not just pay a monetary penalty. This gives employees a tool to force structural reform in workplaces where violations are ongoing and systemic.^[6]

Higher penalties for bad actors. Employers who act maliciously, fraudulently, or oppressively in violating labor laws face enhanced penalties under the reformed statute. Where the employer's conduct is egregious, the civil penalty can increase to $200 per aggrieved employee per violation per pay period.^[7]

What the Employer Cure Provisions Mean for You

One of the most significant new provisions for workers to understand is the employer cure framework. Under the reformed PAGA, if an employer can demonstrate that it took all reasonable steps to comply with the Labor Code before receiving a PAGA notice, the maximum available penalty is capped at 15 percent of the total that would otherwise apply. If the employer takes those steps within 60 days of receiving the PAGA notice, the cap rises to 30 percent.^[8]

What counts as reasonable steps? The statute defines this to include conducting a wage and hour audit and acting on the results, distributing lawful written policies to employees, conducting supervisor training on Labor Code compliance, and taking appropriate corrective action with regard to supervisors who violate the law. Whether steps were truly reasonable is left to the court's discretion, taking into account the employer's size, resources, the nature and severity of the violations, and how long they continued.^[9]

This does not eliminate the worker's claim. Even a capped penalty at 15 or 30 percent can represent substantial recovery when violations affected dozens or hundreds of employees across many pay periods. And egregious conduct by an employer disqualifies them from the penalty caps entirely.

What Stayed the Same: PAGA Is Still Powerful

Despite the reforms, PAGA remains one of the most potent wage enforcement tools in any state in the country. The one year statute of limitations still applies from the date of the last violation. Attorneys fees remain available to prevailing plaintiffs under Labor Code Section 2699(g), meaning that most employees can bring valid PAGA claims without paying legal fees out of pocket. There is no cap on the number of employees a single PAGA action can cover. And the underlying civil penalties under Labor Code Section 2699 remain: $100 per aggrieved employee per pay period for an initial violation, and $200 per aggrieved employee per pay period for subsequent violations.^[2]

The reforms also codified the California Supreme Court's ruling in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., which authorizes courts to limit evidence presented at trial and to limit the scope of a PAGA claim to ensure it can be tried fairly and effectively. This benefits both workers and courts by keeping cases manageable without eliminating the core recovery mechanism.^[10]

What This Means for Your Wage Claim in 2026

In 2026, a worker with a valid PAGA claim has access to a reformed statute that rewards legitimate violations with meaningful penalties, ensures the worker personally benefits from the enforcement action, and opens the door to court orders that force real workplace change. If your employer has underpaid you, denied your breaks, misclassified you, or stolen your tips, a PAGA claim may significantly amplify your individual wage recovery by combining your personal back pay claim with civil penalties assessed across all similarly situated workers.

The stricter standing requirement means that documenting your own violations carefully is more important than ever. The one year filing deadline means that delay has real consequences. And the availability of attorneys fees means that cost should not be a barrier to bringing a valid claim.

The Bottom Line

PAGA is not a perfect statute, and the 2024 reforms added complexity for workers navigating its requirements. But it remains a uniquely powerful enforcement tool that turns individual wage violations into state level accountability. If your employer has violated California's Labor Code, PAGA may allow you to recover far more than your personal wages alone, to force your employer to change the practices that harmed you, and to do it all without paying legal fees out of pocket.

At Smith Reback Law, we evaluate PAGA claims alongside individual wage and hour cases to maximize the total recovery available to our clients. We know how to file a compliant PAGA notice, how to document the violations that support representative standing, and how to pursue the full range of civil penalties and injunctive relief available under the reformed statute. Your consultation is completely confidential and costs nothing.