How do I estimate PAGA exposure for my workforce?

Use a PAGA exposure calculator to estimate potential civil penalties from hourly headcount, pay periods, and assumed violation rates under California's default penalty framework. Easeworks provides a free calculator at /tools/exposure-calculator for scenario planning; a forensic audit is the next step when estimates show material risk.

Risk / PAGA exposure file Source / California Labor Code

Public tool file

Estimate what a PAGA claim could cost your business.

Enter your California hourly headcount, wages, and potential violation assumptions. Compare estimated total exposure under the $100, $30, and $15 PAGA rates.

Calculate my exposure See how penalty tiers work

PAGA Lens

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 Answer the questions
We ask how you pay, track time and document your steps.
2 Say where to send it
Name, work email and company. That is all it takes to get your report.
3 Open your email
A secure link opens your full report. A PDF copy is one click away.
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.

Workspace

Enter the facts, then review the report.

Estimates are planning projections of statutory maximums under stated assumptions, not judgments, settlements, or legal advice. Meal/rest uses 1 premium hour per affected employee per workday for 3 years. PAGA civil uses a 1-year lookback at the $100 default rate. Plaintiff attorney fees are not included because they are typically 30-33% of the negotiated settlement fund, not of this maximum.

Company profile

Assumptions: meal/rest = 1 premium hour per affected employee per workday for 3 years. PAGA civil = 1-year lookback at the $100 default rate. Waiting-time = every termination is late by the days entered (capped at 30). Totals are statutory exposure only. Plaintiff attorney fees are typically 30-33% of the negotiated settlement fund, not of this maximum, so they are not added here.

Exposure scenarios

Enter headcount, wage, and violation assumptions, then unlock your estimate with a work email.