If you have never heard of PAGA, consider yourself lucky.

For business owners, the Personal Attorneys General Act (PAGA) has meant billions of dollars in penalties since it was enacted in 2004. PAGA allows employees to sue for any Labor Code violation as if they were the state (hence the name Personal Attorneys General).

As the California Chamber of Commerce points out, PAGA has been abused, with attorneys leveraging PAGA penalties to get big settlements even if the claims have no merit.

The result is that the employer ends up paying a hefty sum with much of the cash going to attorneys and very little going to workers or the state.

There is an alternative: The California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act. The CalChamber stands firmly behind this proposed initiative. The goal is to get PAGA reform on the November ballot.

The initiative would replace PAGA with alternative enforcement mechanisms and take away the incentive for attorneys to cash in by ensuring 100% of penalties go to workers.

To learn more about this initiative, visit stoptheshakedown.com.