Not even the negative impact of high inflation can match the devastation being caused to California business owners from abuses tied to the Private Attorneys General Act.It gives employees who feel they were unjustly harmed on the job the means to sue their employers over any perceived labor code violations.
Consider this scenario: It is not uncommon for an employee to ask their employer if they can leave early on a particular day, saying something like, “Hey, boss, my son has a soccer game at 4 o’clock today. Can I skip lunch to leave early and see my kid win his game?” The boss is usually happy that the work is getting done and the employee is happy because he can go see his son at the game.
The newly passed reforms also set a statute of limitations on when a claim can be filed, and the requirement that the plaintiff personally suffered each of the violations alleged. Both were needed to limit frivolous lawsuits.