CABIA Launches Lawsuit Settlement & Trial Attorney Payout Tracker

The California Business and Industrial Alliance announced the launch of its Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Lawsuit Tracker, a first-of-its-kind public database for documenting every lawsuit settlement and attorney payout filed under PAGA in California.

PAGA is a California law that privatized justice by allowing employees to file suit against their employer for any minor or accidental infraction of California’s labor code. As CABIA explains, “Thousands of PAGA notices are filed annually in California over labor code violations as minor as typos on a paystub.”

“The tracker draws data directly from state records and gives the public an unfiltered look at how trial lawyers profit from the current sue and settle system – and the businesses they target.”

The Paga Lawsuit Tracker, documenting the magnitude of PAGA abuse, is easy to access and follow.

This launch comes days before the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency holds a public hearing (conducted by videoconference via Zoom) on April 9 to consider regulatory changes to PAGA. This state law allows employees and their attorneys to sue employers over technical violations of California’s complex labor code.

The state attempted to reform PAGA in 2024, but the impact, or lack thereof, speaks for itself. Since then:

• 2024: 1,806 lawsuit settlements | $1.6B in payouts | $508M to attorneys 
• 2025: 2,420 lawsuit settlements | $2.2B in payouts | $740M to attorneys 
• 2026 (Jan-Feb): 471 lawsuits | $352M in payouts | $114M to attorneys

“California businesses deserve to know what they’re up against,” said Tom Manzo, founder and president of CABIA. “PAGA reform did not move the needle enough. Two years later, filings are up, settlements are up, and attorney payouts are up. This cash cow has only gotten bigger.”

The tracker also identifies the law firms filing the most claims in CABIA’s “Hall of Shame:”

1. Moon & Yang, APC leads the list with 1,763 filings since 2010
2. Wilshire Law Firm, PLC with 1,744 filings since 2016
3. Lawyers for Justice with 1,578 filings since 2011

The 2024 “reform” to PAGA left attorney fee incentives untouched. Meanwhile, California’s labor code exceeds 1,100 pages, and key wage orders haven’t been updated since 2001. As it stands, the law remains a minefield for good-faith businesses that make small mistakes.

CABIA is calling on state officials to use the April 9 hearing as an opportunity to confront the data and pursue reforms that address the underlying incentive structure driving PAGA abuse.

Last year, CABIA created a “gaslighting tracker” which the Globe covered, highlighting “Gov. Newsom’s subtle to blatantly false statements,” by his teenage communications staff’s offensive and immature social media posts on Newsom’s X page.

CABIA noted then, and it is still relevant today: “California has real problems: Businesses are struggling; families can’t afford to live here; destroyed homes still haven’t been rebuilt; unions and trial lawyers are ruining the state’s reputation. Rather than solving these problems, our Governor is wasting time on social media and bringing shame on our state. It’s time for Gavin to get offline and get back to work.”

Lawsuit abuse only makes these difficult realities worse.

The hearing will be conducted by videoconference via Zoom. Link Here for the instructions to join the hearing.

The California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA) is a trade organization founded in 2017 by business executives and entrepreneurs to fix California’s worst law: the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). CABIA is led by a team of experienced California business owners and communicators committed to creating a regulatory climate that fosters the creation of new businesses and helps existing ones prosper. Learn more at CABIA.org.