File / AB-2288 Updated July 2026

AB 2288

Reasonable steps, documented

Assemble the policies, training, and audit trail California employers use to show they took all reasonable steps before a PAGA notice arrives.

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Enter your work email to unlock the full checklist and PDF. We will not spam you.

Operational documentation aid, not legal advice.

PAGA Lens

You came from the AB 2288 checklist. Your report shows which of the six files in the kit are missing.

Find the gaps a PAGA claim would start from

Answer questions about how you pay and track your California employees. You get a report that shows where your pay practices, your records and your reasonable-steps file have gaps, in the same categories a payroll audit tests.

Start the check About 8 minutes. No account.

How it works

  1. 1 Answer the questions

    We ask how you pay, track time and document your steps.

  2. 2 Say where to send it

    Name, work email and company. That is all it takes to get your report.

  3. 3 Open your email

    A secure link opens your full report. A PDF copy is one click away.

  4. 4 Read it, then choose a next step

    Request a PAGA audit or book a 20-minute review. We ask a few more questions only then.

Your results arrive by email, not on this page, so you can open them again, forward them and share them with counsel.

01 / Timing windows

When reasonable steps can change exposure

AB 2288 updated Labor Code §2699 so timing and documentation can limit recoverable civil penalties. Caps are conditional frameworks, not guaranteed discounts.

Labor Code §2699(g)

Steps already in place

Employers who took all reasonable steps to comply with later-identified provisions before a notice or certain records requests may face capped recoverable civil penalties under the statute’s framework.

  • Current handbook + prior versions covering the lookback
  • Signed or electronic policy acknowledgments
  • Training completed before the alleged period
  • Monitoring cadence already running

02 / What’s in the kit

Six files courts and counsel look for

Unlock the checklist to mark each item and download the PDF. Completing the list does not guarantee a statutory limit. Practice still has to match the paper.

01
Written policies

Wage-and-hour handbook versions that match California requirements across the lookback.

02
Training trail

Manager sessions, attendance, and materials dated to the periods that matter.

03
Monitoring cadence

Who reviews exceptions (missed meals, edits, late punches) and how often.

04
Self-audit file

Forensic or internal reviews with findings, owners, and close-out dates.

05
Corrective actions

What changed when gaps appeared: SOP updates, coaching, back pay if owed.

06
Retention window

Time, payroll, and wage-statement records held for the PAGA lookback.

Ready for the full proof file?

The interactive checklist and PDF sit behind a short unlock. That is how we keep the kit current and useful.

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Next step

Unlock the kit to continue

Get the checklist first. After that, we will show the next step for documenting reasonable steps with Easeworks.