A local of chamber of commerce has put some of its lobbying weight behind an effort to reform the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).

The Fresno Chamber of Commerce is one of more than a dozen chambers up and down California meeting with state legislators to advocate for a fix to PAGA, which has proven inefficient for workers and unfairly burdensome for thousands of small businesses.

The push against PAGA is happening on multiple fronts. In addition to our elected officials in Sacramento, a ballot measure repealing PAGA has qualified for the November ballot. And there is speculation that the pro-business coalition and labor and attorney groups supporting PAGA could strike a bargain to pull the repeal of the ballot, just like with the fast food minimum wage.

Whatever happens, there’s no doubt PAGA is a losing proposition for not only businesses but also the employees who use the law to sue for employer violations.

An updated report on the outcomes of PAGA shows employees receive three times more when their claims are reviewed by the state vs. filed with a court. The cases take nearly a year longer.

The report also finds that since 2013, employers have been forced to pay nearly $10 billion in PAGA court case awards, but because of the class-action nature and lawyer commissioners, workers receive only a small portion of the awards.

Now is the time to unshackle California’s labor law system and its employers by doing away with PAGA.