Labor Code §2699.3 – PAGA Notice and Cure Rules

Labor Code section 2699.3 says you can’t file a lawsuit under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) until you give written notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) and your employer, pay a $75 filing fee (which can be waived), and let the state’s response period run, which is generally 65 calendar days. The current version was rewritten in the 2024 PAGA reform (AB 2288 and SB 92, signed July 1, 2024) and has been operative since October 1, 2024. It also gives many employers a chance to fix (“cure”) violations before a lawsuit moves forward.

This page covers the statute’s notice, waiting and cure rules. For who can bring a PAGA claim, how penalties are calculated and how the money is split, see our explainer on Labor Code §2699 and PAGA penalties. For how these cases are litigated, see our PAGA and class action practice page and our article on headless PAGA claims.

What Labor Code 2699.3 says

Subdivision	What it covers (paraphrased)
(a)	The notice track for violations listed in Labor Code 2699.5. Notice goes to the LWDA and the employer; the LWDA decides whether to investigate. There is no administrative cure on this track.
(b)	Workplace health and safety violations under Division 5 of the Labor Code that are not on the 2699.5 list. Notice goes to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), with a copy to the LWDA.
(c)	All other violations. Same LWDA notice, plus a cure process for employers with fewer than 100 employees and a separate cure process for wage statement violations under Labor Code 226.
(d)	An employer can use the notice-and-cure provisions only once in a 12-month period for violations of the same provisions.
(e)	The waiting periods in the section don’t count against the deadline to file a PAGA lawsuit.
(f)	Larger employers can ask the court for a stay and an early evaluation conference after being served with the lawsuit.
(g)	The section became operative October 1, 2024.

By the numbers65 calendar days

Who section 2699.3 covers

The notice requirement applies to every “aggrieved employee” who wants to recover civil penalties under PAGA. Under Labor Code 2699(c), that means a current or former employee who “personally suffered each of the violations alleged” within the one-year limitations period. The notice may be given by “the aggrieved employee or representative,” such as your lawyer.

On the employer side, PAGA reaches private employers. The LWDA says government employers are not subject to PAGA lawsuits. The cure options depend on size: the small-employer cure process is limited to an employer that “employed fewer than 100 employees in total during the period covered by the notice.” The LWDA counts all exempt and nonexempt workers, including those employed outside California.

---

The notice: what it must say and how it is sent

• Two recipients. The notice is filed online with the LWDA and sent to the employer by certified mail. Filing on the LWDA portal is not service on the employer. (Health and safety notices under subdivision (b) go to Cal/OSHA instead, with a copy to the LWDA.)
• Content. It must identify “the specific provisions of this code alleged to have been violated, including the facts and theories to support the alleged violation.”
• Fee. A $75 fee goes with the notice, and with any employer response. It can be waived under Government Code 68632 and 68633.

How long the state has to respond

For violations on the 2699.5 list (subdivision (a)), and for other violations where the employer can’t or doesn’t use the cure process (subdivision (c)), the timeline is the same:

What the LWDA does	Deadline	When you may sue
Decides not to investigate	Notice within 60 calendar days of the postmark	When you receive that notice, or if no notice arrives within 65 calendar days of the postmark
Decides to investigate	Says so within 65 calendar days of the postmark, then has 120 calendar days to investigate and issue any citation	If it decides not to cite (it must tell you within 5 business days), or if it misses a deadline

If you already have a lawsuit on file, subdivision (a) lets you amend it “as a matter of right” to add PAGA claims within 60 days after these time periods.

The health and safety track works differently. Cal/OSHA inspects or investigates. If it issues a citation, you can’t sue under PAGA for that violation. If it doesn’t, you can challenge that decision in superior court.

---

The cure rules added in 2024

“Cure” is defined in Labor Code 2699(d). The employer must correct each violation, comply with the underlying law, and make each aggrieved employee whole. For unpaid wages, that means wages owed going back three years from the notice date, plus 7 percent interest, any liquidated damages required by statute, and reasonable lodestar attorney’s fees and costs. For most wage statement violations, it means a compliant statement for each pay period with a violation in the three years before the notice. If the only problem was the employer’s name or address, written notice of the correct information is enough.

Employers with fewer than 100 employees

• The employer may submit a confidential cure proposal within 33 days after it receives your notice, saying which violations it will cure.
• If the proposal is facially sufficient, or a conference is needed, the LWDA may set a conference within 14 days after receiving the proposal, to be held no more than 30 days later. The LWDA can ask that unpaid wages be paid into escrow.
• The cure must be finished by the agreed deadline, no more than 45 days after the conference, and the employer must file a sworn notice (with a payroll audit and check register if money is involved).
• If the LWDA preliminarily finds a cure, it must tell you, and if you ask for a hearing it must set one within 30 days of that finding and rule within 20 days after the hearing. If the cure is found adequate, you can’t sue for that violation, but you can appeal to superior court.
• If the proposal isn’t facially sufficient, or the LWDA doesn’t act, you can sue after 65 calendar days from sending the notice. The LWDA can extend that, but not beyond 120 calendar days after the notice.

Wage statement violations (any size employer)

For violations of Labor Code 226 (the pay stub law), any employer may cure within 33 calendar days of the postmark on your notice, by giving you written notice and filing online with the LWDA. If you disagree, you can file a dispute; the LWDA has 17 calendar days to decide and may give the employer 3 more business days to cure. If it isn’t cured, you can sue. Our guide to California pay stub requirements explains what a compliant stub must show.

Employers with 100 or more employees

These employers can’t use the LWDA cure process (except the wage statement cure). Instead, after being served with the lawsuit, they may ask the court for an early evaluation conference and a stay, “prior to or simultaneous with” their first response. The conference must be held no later than 70 days after the court’s order. A curing employer submits its cure plan within 21 days of the order, and you get 21 days after that to respond. The process can’t run longer than 30 days unless both sides agree.

Key fact

Exceptions and limits

• No administrative cure for listed violations. Violations on the 2699.5 list, which includes final pay rules (Labor Code 201–203), unlawful deductions (221, 223) and retaliation (98.6, 1102.5, 6310), follow the subdivision (a) track, not the LWDA cure process.
• Once a year. An employer can’t use the notice-and-cure provisions more than once in 12 months for the same provisions, wherever the worksite is.
• Older notices. The 2024 amendments to section 2699 don’t apply to a case whose PAGA notice was filed before June 19, 2024 (Labor Code 2699(v)).

---

Penalties and remedies

Section 2699.3 sets no penalties of its own. It controls when a PAGA case can proceed. The penalty amounts, the 15% and 30% caps for employers that took reasonable steps, and the 65/35 split between the state and workers are in Labor Code 2699, covered on our §2699 page. If the LWDA finds a small employer’s cure adequate, you can’t sue for that violation. Under Labor Code 2699(j), a cure can also wipe out or cap penalties, at no more than $15 per employee per pay period for most employers that cure. Your own unpaid wages are a separate claim with their own rules.

---

Deadlines

Step	Time limit	Source
File the PAGA lawsuit	Generally 1 year; notice periods aren’t counted	Code Civ. Proc. 340(a); Labor Code 2699.3(e)
Wage statement cure	33 calendar days after the notice postmark	2699.3(c)(3)
Copy of the filed complaint to the LWDA	Within 10 days of filing	Labor Code 2699(s)(1)
Early evaluation conference	Within 70 days of the court’s order	2699.3(f)

---

Related sections

Section	What it adds
Labor Code 2699	Standing, penalty amounts and caps, the definition of cure, and court approval of settlements
Labor Code 2699.5	The list of provisions that follow the subdivision (a) notice track
Labor Code 226	Wage statement rules with their own 33-day cure
Code of Civil Procedure 340(a)	One-year deadline for actions on a statute for a penalty

---

How it plays out

💡 Example: A hypothetical delivery company had 60 employees during the period covered by a driver’s notice. The driver’s lawyer files a PAGA notice online and mails it by certified mail on March 2, 2026, alleging unreimbursed mileage (Labor Code 2802) and pay stubs missing the employer’s address (Labor Code 226). The company can cure the pay stub violation within 33 calendar days of the postmark, by April 4, 2026. It receives the notice on March 5, so a cure proposal on the mileage claim is due within 33 days, by April 7, 2026. If the LWDA finds the proposal isn’t facially sufficient, the driver can sue once 65 calendar days have passed from the notice (day 65 is May 6, 2026). The LWDA can stretch that wait, but not past 120 calendar days after the notice, which is June 30, 2026.

---

What to do if you’re considering a PAGA claim

• Write down each violation you personally suffered and when. Standing depends on it.
• Keep pay stubs, schedules and reimbursement records. The notice must lay out facts and theories, not just section numbers.
• Watch the one-year clock. The notice has to go out first, and only the statutory waiting periods are excluded from the deadline.
• If you signed an arbitration agreement, read our article on headless PAGA claims before you send the notice.

---

Frequently asked questions

What does “facts and theories” mean in a PAGA notice?

Subdivision (a)(1)(A) requires the notice to name the specific Labor Code provisions violated and the facts and theories that support each one. A bare list of section numbers is not enough.

How long does the LWDA have to respond to a PAGA notice?

It has 60 calendar days from the postmark to say it won’t investigate. If you hear nothing within 65 calendar days, you may file suit. If it decides to investigate, it has 120 calendar days from that decision to issue any citation.

Which employers can cure under section 2699.3?

Employers with fewer than 100 employees in total during the period covered by the notice can use the LWDA cure process. Any employer can use the 33-day cure for Labor Code 226 wage statement violations. Larger employers can ask the court for an early evaluation conference instead.

Does the notice period count against the one-year deadline?

No. Subdivision (e) says the periods in the section are not counted as part of the time limit for filing a PAGA action.

---

Sources

• Labor Code 2699.3 (California Legislative Information)
• Labor Code 2699 and Labor Code 2699.5
• Code of Civil Procedure 340
• LWDA: Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)
• LWDA: PAGA Frequently Asked Questions
• DIR PAGA Filing Portal

---