Governor Signs Bill to Provide Employers Opportunity to Cure Certain Wage Statement Claims in PAGA Actions

On October 2, 2015, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 1506, which amends the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) to provide employers the opportunity to cure certain check stub violations before being sued. AB 1506 is urgency legislation that goes into effect immediately. Here's how it works:

Labor Code section 226 requires employers to provide certain information to their employees on their wage statements, including the inclusive dates of the pay period (section 226(a)(6)) and the name and address of the employer (section 226(a)(8)). PAGA allows employees to seek civil penalties for violations of section 226.

Under the existing Labor Code section 2699.3(c), employers may cure certain violations within the time frames provided. If the employer cures, the plaintiff may not sue under PAGA.

The new law adds Labor Code sections 226(a)(6) and (8) to the list of statutes that the employer may cure. For the wonks out there, it actually accomplishes this by deleting sections (6) and (8) from the list of statutes for which there is no opportunity to cure.

Amended section 2699(d) provides:

A violation of paragraph (6) or (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 226 shall only be considered cured upon a showing that the employer has provided a fully compliant, itemized wage statement to each aggrieved employee for each pay period for the three-year period prior to the date of the written notice sent pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 2699.3.

Amended section 2699.3(c)(2)(B)(ii): provides:

No employer may avail himself or herself of the notice and cure provisions of this subdivision with respect to alleged violations of paragraph (6) or (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 226 more than once in a 12-month period for the same violation or violations contained in the notice, regardless of the location of the worksite.

Legislative Counsel’s digest is available here.