Proposed Law Seeks to Give Employees a Better Alternative to the Backlogged Labor Board (Senate Bill 310)

In February of 2025, California State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced SB 310, a bill aimed at improving workers’ recovery of penalties when employers pay their wages late or not at all in violation of Labor Code section 210. Currently, workers can recover those penalties only by filing either wage claims with the Labor Commissioner’s Office (LCO) or Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative lawsuits. However, both options have significant drawbacks—the LCO process is severely backlogged with hearing delays reaching 5+ years, while worker recoveries in PAGA lawsuits are limited to just 35%, with the rest going to the State of California.

SB 310 would permit workers to sidestep these issues by allowing them to file private civil lawsuits for Labor Code section 210 violations while still recovering 100% of the penalties they would have received at the LCO, effectively giving workers a new third option.

Challenges in Recovering Penalties for Wage Theft

Wage theft is a persistent issue in California, with thousands of workers filing claims against employers each year. When paychecks are late or go missing, workers can seek penalties by filing either:

• Labor Commissioner Wage Claims: Workers can recover full penalties against their employers, but massive backlogs have led to significant delays in getting to a hearing—often more than 500 days. Moreover, when workers win, the Labor Commissioner’s Office has had limited success in getting employer’s to actually pay up; or
• PAGA Representative Lawsuits: Special civil lawsuits where workers seek penalties on behalf of themselves and their coworkers, but can receive payment of only 35% of assessed penalties, with 65% going to the state.

How SB 310 Helps Workers

SB 310 creates a third option–Private Civil Lawsuits. Unlike the backlogged LCO, most civil courts in California are not (so severely) backlogged, and unlike PAGA, workers would be paid the full penalty amount and not have to share it with the State of California.

Importantly, SB 310 does not increase the total penalties which employers are liable for under Labor Code section 210—it simply provides an alternative where workers may be able to more quickly and fully recover them.

In Senator Wiener’s own words:

“Everyone deserves to be paid the full wages they are owed, in a timely manner, for the work they do. Wage theft is a widespread concern for millions of Californians, but the legal remedies at their disposal are deeply broken. SB 310 creates a straightforward new path for workers to recover the full penalties when they are paid late.”

The bill is sponsored by California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and Legal Aid at Work.

Next Steps

If passed, SB 310 may offer workers a more effective tool to recover penalties for late or unpaid wages.

For workers seeking legal guidance on wage theft or unpaid wages, consider consulting a labor lawyer to get help deciding which option is best for you.