The PAGA Review
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AB 2288 / SB 92§ 2699(d), (j); § 2699.3(c), (f)

Cure & Right to Correct

Cure requires correction, compliance, and making affected employees whole. Administrative cure and judicial early evaluation have different eligibility rules and deadlines; penalty consequences depend on the applicable cure pathway and reasonable-steps provisions.

Selected statutory text and related analysis. References checked against the published Labor Code on October 18, 2026.

Statutory Text

§ 2699(d), (j); § 2699.3(c), (f)
For purposes of subdivisions (c) and (f) of Section 2699.3, and except for violations of subdivision (a) of Section 226, “cure” means that the employer corrects the violation alleged by the aggrieved employee, is in compliance with the underlying statutes specified in the notice required by this part, and each aggrieved employee is made whole. An employee who is owed wages is made whole when the employee has received an amount sufficient to recover any owed unpaid wages due under the underlying statutes specified in the notice dating back three years from the date of the notice, plus 7 percent interest, any liquidated damages as required by statute, and reasonable lodestar attorney’s fees and costs to be determined by the agency or the court. In case of a dispute over the amount of unpaid wages due, nothing in this part prohibits an employer from curing the alleged violations by paying amounts sufficient to cover any unpaid wages that the agency or court determine could reasonably be owed to the aggrieved employees based on the violations alleged in the notice.

Lab. Code, § 2699(d)(1) — full official text

Analyses

Statutory Deep Dive
The Cure Mechanism Under § 2699.3(c)(2): A Defense Reference

A comprehensive analysis of the cure mechanism enacted by the 2024 PAGA reforms — statutory text, legislative context, procedural requirements, defense strategy framework, and unresolved questions that will shape the next generation of cure litigation.

March 9, 2026
Practice Alert
LWDA’s First PAGA Regulations Proposal: The March 2026 Analysis

The LWDA published the first-ever formal PAGA regulations on February 6, 2026. The proposed rules add 33 new sections to the California Code of Regulations covering cure procedures, notice requirements, settlement oversight, and vexatious filer designations. The original comment period closed March 23, 2026; this article includes an October 18 status note.

March 9, 2026
Statutory Deep Dive
The Penalty Architecture: A Defense Map to the Reformed § 2699

AB 2288 replaced PAGA's binary penalty structure with a graduated framework of six tiers — from zero (full cure) to $200 (malicious conduct) — calibrated to employer behavior. This analysis maps each tier, the 'all reasonable steps' standard that controls the 15% and 30% caps, and the judicial override discretion that makes every penalty determination negotiable.

February 28, 2026

Strategic Landscape

With 3 analyses published on this provision, the interpretive landscape is beginning to take shape. Check individual analyses above for detailed strategic implications.