Keep every itemized wage statement, daily time record, schedule, payroll file, and meal- and rest-break note from the year before you give notice. PAGA, California's Private Attorneys General Act that lets an aggrieved employee pursue civil penalties for the state, turns on proof that you personally suffered each violation you allege.
That one-year focus matters. Records outside that window do not expand the penalty period. Save what shows your own hours, pay, and breaks inside it.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Ca — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official notice from Ca — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- Why does timing control what you save?
- Which pay records prove your own claim?
- How do you document hours and breaks?
- What filing and personnel proof should you save?
Why does timing control what you save?
Since the July 2024 reforms, you have standing only for violations you personally suffered within the year before the PAGA notice. Dorsey & Whitney reports that rule in its summary of the 2024 PAGA reforms. Keep records that tie you, not only coworkers, to each Labor Code section you plan to allege.
PAGA penalties also reach back only about one year before the agency notice. The same Dorsey & Whitney summary of the 2024 PAGA reforms explains that limit. Older stubs and timecards may show a pattern, but they do not create a longer penalty period.
Which pay records prove your own claim?
Keep every itemized wage statement for the notice year. California law requires nine details on each statement, described by the California Legislature in Labor Code section 226.
Check each stub for these items: Missing details can support a wage-statement issue. Keep envelopes, direct-deposit notices, bonus sheets, and correction stubs with the originals.
- gross wages and net wages
- total hours worked and piece-rate units
- deductions and pay-period dates
- your name or ID and employer name and address
- each hourly rate plus hours worked at that rate
How do you document hours and breaks?
Keep your own daily record of start times, stop times, overtime, shift swaps, and schedule changes. Employers must retain wage-statement and deduction records for at least three years, so your file checks what they produce later. Save meal- and rest-break proof in the same daily file.
California generally requires a 30-minute duty-free meal period for shifts over five hours, a second over ten hours, and paid 10-minute rest periods per four hours worked, according to the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in its meal periods FAQ. Note missed, late, short, or on-duty meals with dates and managers on duty. Keep schedules, timecard edits, clock-rounding notices, off-the-clock messages, and break waivers beside those notes.
What filing and personnel proof should you save?
Before suing, you must give written notice to both the employer by certified mail and the state agency through its online PAGA portal, with specific sections plus facts and theories. You must then wait 65 calendar days for agency review before filing, unless the agency responds sooner. A new notice also requires a $75 filing fee, and portal submission alone does not count as service.
Request personnel and payroll records early in writing and keep the request, mailing receipts, and responses. Personnel files must be produced within 30 calendar days, extendable to 35 days only by written agreement. Send that request certified and keep the receipt in your PAGA file.