LWDA notice (PAGA notice)

What it is

Before suing under PAGA, the aggrieved employee or their attorney must give written notice of the specific Labor Code provisions allegedly violated, with the facts and theories supporting each. The notice goes to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency by online filing and to the employer by certified mail (Labor Code section 2699.3(a)). The LWDA says all PAGA documents must be filed through the DIR's online PAGA filing portal, and that the portal does not serve the other side.

The rule and its deadlines

A $75 filing fee accompanies the notice, and any employer response, subject to fee waiver. If the LWDA says it won't investigate, or gives no notice within 65 calendar days of the notice's postmark, the employee may file suit. If it decides to investigate, it notifies the parties within 65 days and has 120 days from that decision to issue a citation (section 2699.3(a)(2)). The notice periods do not count against the time to sue for penalties (section 2699.3(e)). Standing reaches back one year under Code of Civil Procedure section 340, so a late notice shrinks the claim.

Why it matters to a plaintiff firm

The notice works like a pleading: claims and theories left out of it can be challenged later, and employers may answer with the reformed cure provisions. Firms draft it from a full wage and hour review, file it promptly to preserve the one-year look-back, and calendar the 65-day date. See the PAGA after the 2024 reform guide.