On February 6, 2026, the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to adopt the first-ever set of formal regulations governing PAGA’s administrative procedures. That sentence alone should get the attention of every California employer.

Since PAGA was enacted in 2004, and even after the landmark 2024 reforms, there

Enacted in 2004, California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) was designed by the California Legislature to offer financial incentives to private individuals to enforce state labor laws by recovering certain civil penalties.  Aggrieved employees can seek recovery of civil penalties for Labor Code violations they suffered, in addition to penalties for all Labor Code violations

Happy Friday!  This Friday’s Five provides five legal requests and/or notices that, if ignored, can create huge liability for a California employer.

1. Requests for personnel records and time records

There are many different Labor Code provisions that obligate the employer to provide current and former employees with a copy of their personnel files and/or