Under PAGA, California's Private Attorneys General Act, an aggrieved employee is a person employed by the alleged violator who personally suffered each violation alleged. Both current and former employees can qualify when the violation was committed against them during that employment.
That personal-harm test comes from the California Legislature in the current text of Labor Code section 2699. It looks back over the Code of Civil Procedure section 340 period. It controls who can bring a representative PAGA case.
Official resource:
- Check eligibility on Ca’s official study page — Use this page to check the study’s participation requirements.
Table of Contents
- You must have lived each violation you allege
- Do you still qualify after leaving the job?
- Why does timing decide standing?
- What must you file before suing?
You must have lived each violation you allege
For notices filed on or after June 19, 2024, the rule is violation-by-violation. You must have personally suffered each Labor Code violation listed in the action. Setareh Law explains this narrowing in its 2024 reform discussion.
You cannot qualify by pointing only to coworkers' injuries. If you missed meal periods, you can pursue that claim for others with the same injury. If you never suffered a rest-period violation, you cannot add one based on someone else's experience.
Do you still qualify after leaving the job?
Yes, if the violation hit you while you worked for that employer. Current and former employees are both eligible on that basis. The California Supreme Court confirmed this employment link in the Adolph opinion.
Arbitration does not end that status either. Under Adolph, a worker ordered to arbitrate an individual PAGA claim keeps standing to pursue non-individual representative claims in court. The court case continues for other affected workers while the individual issue moves to arbitration.
Why does timing decide standing?
Your own violation must fall inside PAGA's one-year limitations period measured from the LWDA notice. An untimely personal claim cannot support representative standing. A California Court of Appeal discussion reported by JD Supra makes that timing link clear in its Williams v.
Alacrity report. This makes the filing date practical, not technical. A late personal claim leaves no anchor for the wider case. A timely personal claim preserves the right to seek penalties tied to that violation for the group.
What must you file before suing?
You must first give notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency online and to the employer by certified mail. According to FindLaw, the text of Labor Code section 2699.3 requires that notice to state the provisions, facts, and theories, followed by LWDA review time.
A qualifying employee then sues as the state's proxy, not only for personal damages. The Employer Advocates Group guide says the action seeks civil penalties for the worker plus other affected current or former employees, with most penalties going to the LWDA.
- Send LWDA notice through its online system.
- Send the employer the same notice by certified mail.
- List each provision, supporting fact, and legal theory.
- Wait for the LWDA review period before filing.