On May 27, 2025, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held that a former employee retains standing to bring California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims against an employer more than a year after separation, even though PAGA’s statute of limitations for civil penalties is one year. This decision is rooted in the statutory language prior to the July 2024 PAGA reforms and contrasts with the new, narrower standing requirements. Additionally, the decision directly contradicts other recent decisions reaching the opposite conclusion.

Quick Hits

• The appellate court confirmed that, under the law as it existed prior to July 2024, a former employee could file PAGA claims even eighteen months after leaving employment, regardless of the one-year PAGA statute of limitations for civil penalties.
• The decision focused on the definition of “aggrieved employee” under the former version of Labor Code Section 2699, emphasizing that standing depended on whether the claimant suffered a Labor Code violation while employed, not on the timing of the claim relative to the statute of limitations.
• The court’s interpretation suggests that, before the 2024 reforms, the timing of the alleged violation was not a barrier to standing, so long as the claimant was employed by the alleged violator and suffered at least one Labor Code violation. However, this interpretation is contradicted by other, recent appellate authority.

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