General legal information for California workers — read it, then tell us what happened.
California's Private Attorneys General Act allows qualifying employees to seek civil penalties on behalf of the state for Labor Code violations they experienced. PAGA is different from an individual wage claim, uses technical notice and filing procedures, and changed substantially under 2024 reform legislation. If this is happening to you, California law gives you real protections — speak with us 24/7, free and private, and leave with a video call booked with a California employment attorney who already understands your story.
Free · Private · Any hour — start by talking, not typing.
None of these alone decides a case — but each is worth writing down while it is fresh:
Deadlines in employment cases are real, strict, and vary by claim — talking to an attorney early protects your options.
Protect your options — speak with us →You talk; we listen and organize. These are the questions that give your story its weight:
PAGA authorizes an aggrieved employee to pursue civil penalties on behalf of the State of California for qualifying Labor Code violations. It is a representative enforcement action, not simply another name for an individual unpaid wage claim.
A Labor Commissioner wage claim seeks wages or benefits owed to an individual worker. PAGA seeks civil penalties for Labor Code violations on the state's behalf. A worker may have wage, damage, statutory-penalty, and PAGA theories arising from the same facts, but each has separate requirements.
For notices filed under the current framework, a current or former employee generally must have personally experienced each alleged Labor Code violation pursued, subject to statutory provisions and limited exceptions. The dates and applicable version of the law matter.
Yes. PAGA uses a statutory notice process involving the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the employer, with content, service, fee, timing, and possible cure requirements. A generic workplace complaint is not a substitute for compliant PAGA notice.
Consider speaking with an attorney when the facts involve money owed, job loss, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, leave denial, or a deadline. This site provides general information and intake support, not legal advice.
No. Submitting information or using the intake assistant does not create an attorney-client relationship unless an attorney agrees to represent you in writing.
Start with the governing statute and agencies, then bring your specific facts to an attorney. These links are primary public sources, not substitutes for advice.
The law is statewide; the workplaces are local. Start with your city, or speak with us from any of the 58 counties:
Speak with us now — free, private, any hour. Tell your story once, and leave with a video call booked with a California employment attorney.
Free · Private · Any hour — start by talking, not typing.