A PAGA case begins with a single document. This walks through what a notice actually contains — the provisions alleged, the facts and theories, the fee, and the postmark that starts the State's clock.
The 2024 amendments govern a civil action brought on or after June 19, 2024 — unless the LWDA notice was filed before that date, in which case prior law governs (Lab. Code § 2699(v)).1The statute now carries an AB 1170 (eff. Jan. 1, 2026) stamp, but AB 1170 was the Legislature's annual code-maintenance bill and changed nothing of substance — no penalty tier, cap, split, cure track, or standing rule. The substantive regime is the 2024 reform (AB 2288 / SB 92).
The notice
Part 1 of 8: Caption — the addressed-to line.
Part 1 of 8
Caption — the addressed-to line
Every PAGA notice opens by announcing what it is and where it is going. The two addressees on the caption are not interchangeable: the notice is filed online with the State's Labor and Workforce Development Agency and, separately, mailed to the employer by certified mail. Both are required. The case number is assigned by the LWDA's online system when the notice is filed; it is how the State, the employer, and any later court track the matter.
Lab. Code § 2699.3(a)(1)(A)
Lab. Code § 2699.3(a)(1)(A)
The aggrieved employee or representative shall give written notice by online filing with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and by certified mail to the employer of the specific provisions of this code alleged to have been violated, including the facts and theories to support the alleged violation.
In plain English
Before anyone can sue, the worker must file a notice with the State online and mail it to the employer — naming which laws were broken and the facts and theories behind each one. No notice, no lawsuit.
1 / 8
Illustrative only — a synthesized PAGA notice. The parties, dates, and figures are invented for teaching; this is not a real notice and not a template to file.
The takeaway
A notice is not a lawsuit — it is the document that must come first, and the postmark on it is the date everything else is counted from.