California is set to change a law that large businesses say make it easier for workers to sue employers and have cost them $10 billion over the past decade, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Concretely, companies like Walmart, Uber and Google say the Private Attorneys General Act led to mounting lawsuits for workplace violations. In contrast, advocates said the law, known as PAGA, is a model of worker protections that has provided workers with a tool to defend themselves against powerful companies.
Among the most salient rulings against the companies are a $20 million settlement won by Uber drivers, a $27 million one from Google employees over free-speech violations complaints and $65 million paid by Walmart for allegedly not providing seating to cashiers.
Governor Gavin Newsom hosted weeks of negotiations between the California Chamber of Commerce and the state's Labor Federation before an agreement was reached. If that wasn't the case, the former planned to move forward with a ballot measure in November, which would have given voters the chance to repeal PAGA altogether.
PAGA "is a California-only issue that businesses in California are subjected to, and it adds a huge layer of costs for them," said Jennifer Barrera, president of the California Chamber of Commerce.
The agreement came shortly before the June 27 deadline to remove the initiative from the ballot. Large employers had committed more than $31 million to entities backing the ballot measure, including gathering signatures to put it there and an advertising campaign.
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