Private Attorneys General Act: penalties: reduction.

Entirely new Section 1 amending Labor Code Section 2699 (PAGA) was added, transforming the bill from a single-topic transit district measure into a comprehensive labor enforcement reform. The original Public Utilities Code amendment is now secondary.

Excludes from PAGA coverage any action based solely on posting, notice, agency reporting, or filing requirements, except where the filing involves mandatory payroll or workplace injury reporting. Also bars a PAGA action if the Labor and Workforce Development Agency has already cited the employer on the same facts and theories.

Creates a rebuttable presumption that an employer took 'all reasonable steps' to comply if, within 24 months before the alleged violation, the employer: conducts quarterly payroll audits, provides annual supervisor training on wage/hour and antiretaliation rules, maintains a written non-retaliation reporting policy with anonymous channels, engages a third-party compliance reviewer every two years with corrective action within 60 days, and maintains accurate payroll records for at least four years. To trigger the presumption, the employer must submit documentation to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and certify under penalty of perjury that the violation has been cured.

Provides that an employer who satisfies the reasonable-steps standard AND cures a violation shall not be required to pay any civil penalty for that violation. Other employers who cure violations pay no more than $15 per employee per pay period for the statute of limitations period.

Establishes specific civil penalty amounts: $500 if the employer has no employees; $100 per employee per pay period generally; $25 for certain wage statement violations where the employee could determine accurate information; $50 for isolated nonrecurring events (under 30 days or 4 pay periods); and $200 if there was a prior finding of unlawful practice within 5 years or if conduct was malicious, fraudulent, or oppressive. No penalty applies for agency failure to act.

Sets penalty distribution at 65 percent to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency for enforcement and education, and 35 percent to aggrieved employees. Penalties for no-employee violations go entirely to the agency. Penalties are reduced by one-half if the regular pay period is weekly rather than biweekly or semimonthly.

Fiscal committee review changed from 'no' to 'yes' and state-mandated local program changed from 'no' to 'yes' due to the new perjury certification requirement, which constitutes a state-mandated local program. No reimbursement is required because the mandate arises from creating a new crime (perjury).

Allows nonprofit legal aid organizations with 501(c)(3) status that are qualified legal services projects and have served as counsel of record in PAGA actions for at least five years prior to January 1, 2025, to file civil actions on behalf of aggrieved employees.

The PAGA amendments apply to civil actions brought on or after June 19, 2024, but do not apply if the required notice of violation was filed before that date.