The California Legislature approved bills Thursday that would amend a 20-year-old law allowing workers to sue their bosses over labor violations and require employers found liable to pay a fine to the state.The legislation would reform the Private Attorneys General Act, which took effect in 2004. It has come under scrutiny by business groups that say the law has been misused. Critics also say that litigating alleged violations under the law is often time-consuming and expensive.
Debate over the 2004 law has raised questions about what the state does with the money it receives from businesses for fines and settlements involving violations. In 2022-2023, the state left $197 million of that money unspent, CalMatters reported earlier this month.Democratic Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who authored one of the bills, said the deal "demonstrates how things should be done when all sides come together to resolve a longstanding issue of division.