State elections officials have certified that the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act has qualified for the 2024 ballot, as more than 700,000 valid signatures were submitted in support of the measure.

“This necessary reform will protect multigenerational farm businesses while providing a better pathway for workers to address legitimate grievances,” said Dave Puglia, President and CEO of Western Growers.

Western Growers is part of a business coalition taking aim at the Private Attorneys General Act, which the groups say is being used by trial lawyers to shake down California businesses to settle “trip-wire” employment law claims.

Related: Supreme Court’s PAGA victory may be short-lived

Over the past five years, PAGA settlements have cost California businesses $5 billion, a number that is anticipated to double over the next five years, according to Western Growers.

Proponents of the legislation say workers often walk away after settlemnets with pennies while lawyers get millions of dollars after taking years to go through the courts. In a recent settlement, for example, attorneys made $21 million while the wronged employees only received $108 each, the campaign notes.

Reforms proposed

The initiative would reform California's wage and hour enforcement law to resolve workers' claims faster under the Labor Commission, eliminate predatory lawsuits, avoid prolonged and costly court cases and provide penalty payments to workers rather than lawyers, proponents assert.

The groups' push comes as the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that PAGA is trumped by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which requires the enforcement of arbitration agreements, but still allowed for some PAGA claims to be litigated in court. Backers see the ballot initiative as the only viable vehicle to prevent the Legislature from circumventing the Supreme Court's decision.

Nearly 140 Western Growers members contributed $1.4 million toward the signature effort with another $1.2 million coming from the association.

Source: Western Growers, Campaign for Fair Pay and Accountability, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.