How to Cure a PAGA Violation in California: The 33-Day Clock
By Ryan Danz, Founding Attorney, Employer Guidance Group PC
Disclaimer: This article is general information about California law — not legal advice, and not a substitute for having counsel review your specific policies. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Employment law changes frequently; consult a licensed California employment attorney about your situation before acting.
A PAGA notice lands by certified mail on a Tuesday. By the following Monday, most business owners have done exactly one thing: forwarded it to their payroll company and waited. That week is gone. Under the 2024 PAGA reforms, an employer's most valuable tool is the right to cure, and the most common way to lose it is treating the first month like a waiting period.
Why Curing Matters More Than It Used To
Before the 2024 amendments, a PAGA notice was mostly a countdown to a lawsuit. The reform changed the economics. Under Labor Code § 2699, "cure" now has a concrete definition: correct the violation, come into compliance going forward, and make each aggrieved employee whole. Making employees whole means unpaid wages back three years from the notice, plus 7 percent interest, any statutory liquidated damages, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
Compare that to the default penalty of $100 per aggrieved employee per pay period, which climbs to $200 if the employer's policy was found unlawful in the prior five years or the conduct is found malicious, fraudulent, or oppressive. For an employer with 40 hourly workers on biweekly payroll, a single alleged violation running one year carries a nominal exposure of 40 × 26 × $100 = $104,000 before fees — for one Labor Code section.
The statute rewards employers that cure. An employer that cures and also qualifies for the reduced-penalty provisions owes no penalty for the cured violation. Other employers that cure face a sharply reduced per-employee, per-pay-period cap of $15 under § 2699(j).
Which PAGA Cure Track Are You On?
There are three procedures on three different clocks.
| Track | Who can use it | Where you file | Key deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small-employer cure | Fewer than 100 employees total in the year before the notice | LWDA's online PAGA Filing Portal | Cure proposal within 33 days of receiving the notice |
| Wage statement cure | Any employer, for Labor Code § 226 violations only | LWDA portal, plus certified mail to the employee | Cure completed within 33 calendar days of the notice's postmark |
| Early evaluation conference | Employers of 100 or more (smaller employers may also request it) | The superior court, after a lawsuit is served | Request with or before your first response to the complaint |
Two details catch employers off guard. First, the 100-employee count is total headcount, exempt and non-exempt, and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency counts workers employed outside California too. A company with 60 people in California and 50 in Arizona is not a small employer for this purpose. Second, the wage statement track requires the fix itself, not just a proposal, inside the 33 days.
The Small-Employer Cure Process, Step by Step
Under Labor Code § 2699.3(c)(2), an employer with fewer than 100 employees can submit a confidential proposal to cure within 33 days of receiving the notice. The proposal must say which alleged violations you intend to cure. You do not have to propose curing all of them.
From there, per the statute and the LWDA's PAGA FAQ:
| Step | Timing |
|---|---|
| LWDA decides whether to schedule a conference | Within 14 days of your proposal |
| Conference held | Within 30 days of the scheduling notice |
| You complete the cure and file a sworn notice | By the agreed deadline, no later than 45 days after the conference |
| LWDA determines whether the cure is complete | Within 20 days of your sworn notice |
Where the cure involves money, expect to back it up with a payroll audit and a check register. The LWDA charges a $75 filing fee for a cure proposal. If the agency declines to hold a conference, the employee may sue once the 65-day agency review period runs without an investigation notice.
One limit: an employer can use the notice-and-cure provisions only once in a 12-month period for the same Labor Code provisions. A cure is not a subscription.
Curing Wage Statement Violations
Pay stub claims under § 226 get their own faster track, open to employers of any size. You must cure within 33 calendar days of the notice's postmark, notify the employee or their representative by certified mail, and file online with the agency, including a description of what you did. If the employee disputes the cure, the agency has 17 days to decide and may allow up to three more business days to fix it.
This is often the fastest win available. Our breakdown of California pay stub requirements covers the nine required items.
The Early Evaluation Conference for Larger Employers
Employers of 100 or more can instead ask the court for an early evaluation conference once a complaint is served. Under § 2699.3(f), the employer's cure plan is due 21 days after the court's order, the plaintiff responds 21 days later, and the conference happens within 70 days of the order.
The 15% and 30% Penalty Caps
Separate from cure, § 2699(g) and (h) cap penalties for employers that take "all reasonable steps" to comply:
- 15% cap if you were already taking those steps before the notice or a personnel records request arrived.
- 30% cap if you start taking them within 60 days of receiving the notice.
Reasonable steps include periodic payroll audits with action taken on the results, lawful written policies, supervisor training, and corrective action. The caps do not apply to the $200 heightened-penalty tier. We walked through prevention in Avoiding PAGA Penalties; the 60-day window is your second chance at it.
The steps below are general information, not legal advice. Have counsel tailor them to your workforce and practices before you act.
Your First-30-Days Checklist
- Calendar the receipt date and the postmark date the day the notice arrives. The small-employer clock runs from receipt; the wage statement clock runs from postmark.
- Count total headcount for the prior 12 months, in every state. That number decides your track.
- Separate any § 226 wage statement claims and start fixing them immediately.
- Run a targeted payroll audit on each alleged violation going back three years.
- Decide which violations to propose curing and file through the LWDA portal before day 33.
- Start "reasonable steps" now, including audit, policy updates, and training, to stay inside the 60-day window for the 30% cap.
- Preserve documents and stop routine deletion of timekeeping and payroll records.
Get Help Before the Window Closes
A cure proposal is a strategic filing, not a form. If you have received a PAGA notice, talk to our PAGA defense team now. For the payroll review that a cure requires, see our wage and hour practice and compliance audits, or contact us directly.
Disclaimer
This article is general information about California law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Employer Guidance Group PC is not your attorney unless and until you have signed a written engagement agreement with the firm.
California employment law changes constantly. The information here may be incomplete, out of date, unverified, or incorrect, and it does not account for your specific facts — and outcomes turn on facts. Do not act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of this article. Consult a licensed attorney about your own situation before making any employment decision.
This communication may constitute attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.