It’s not often the business community gets a win in the California Legislature. Instead of granting concessions, recent reforms to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) give business owners reasonable opportunities to fix problems before they turn into litigation.

On its 20th anniversary now, PAGA is a California law that allows employees to sue their employers for Labor Code violations on behalf of themselves, other employees and the state.  It was meant as a way to settle problems outside of the normally clogged bureaucratic channels, but it has become detrimental and costly to businesses.

That’s why organizations from the California Chamber of Commerce, Fresno Chamber and the Fresno-based California Fresh Fruit Association are applauding the agreement. See more about their stance in the upcoming print edition of The Business Journal on July 12.

The idea with the agreement is to ensure workers retain a strong tool to resolve labor claims and receive fair compensation while limiting the shakedown lawsuits that hurt employers and employees — and benefit trial lawyers.

Some of the key reforms include increasing the share employees receive from any penalty from 25 to 35%, requiring employee to have personally experienced the alleged violation, and that the violations must have occurred within the last year.

It also expands the employer’s right to cure, giving employees an opportunity to be made whole quickly. Small employers are given a more robust process to fix labor violations to reduce litigation costs — an “everybody wins” scenario.

California needs more common-sense solutions like this.