Before filing suit under the Private Attorney General Act for civil penalties against an employer for violation of state wage and hour laws, an employee must send notice of the alleged violations to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the employer. The notice need not meet pleading standards or include evidence of violations but must be more than a recitation of the statutory language. So a notice saying only that the employer failed to pay wages due within the legally required time was insufficient, but a notice that said the employer failed to provide employees with proper wage statements because the statements did not include the name and address of the legal entity that was the employer was sufficient to give notice of a violation of Lab. Code 226(a)(1)(A). Notice of a violation must be sent to the LWDA and the employer within a year after the violation, and that limitations period cannot be equitably tolled.
California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 5 (Seigle, J., sitting by assignment); October 31, 2018; 28 Cal. App. 5th 824