Early Evaluation Conferences: When to Use PAGA's New Off-Ramp

Let's say you've just been served with a PAGA lawsuit, and one of the tools the 2024 reforms gave you is the right to request an early evaluation conference under PAGA before spending a dollar on discovery. 

Used well, it forces the plaintiff to define exactly what they're claiming before the case gets expensive. If you use it without a clear read on your exposure, it can burn time and put your position on record earlier than necessary. 

Here's how this process works, how it differs from two other similarly named procedures that get confused with it, and when it actually serves your defense.

Key Takeaways

• The PAGA Early Evaluation Conference (EEC) is distinct from both the DLSE's Notice of Claim and Conference (individual wage claims) and the LWDA's administrative cure process.

• Employers that employed 100 or more employees during the one year before the PAGA notice generally have a statutory right to request an EEC. Smaller employers may also request early evaluation, but the court may impose different terms and conditions.

• If the employer intends to cure alleged violations, it must submit a proposed cure plan within 21 days of the court's order. If the employer disputes the allegations, it must submit a confidential statement identifying the basis and evidence for the dispute.

• Courts are split on how to run the EEC: some treat it as a genuine early-resolution conference, others simply refer parties to private mediation.

• Pending LWDA regulations, proposed February 2026, could formalize this process and would apply to existing cases once adopted.

• Whether the EEC or private mediation serves you better depends on how well-documented your exposure already is and how broadly the plaintiff's complaint was pled.

Is This the Same as the "Notice of Claim and Conference"?

No, and this mix-up happens often enough that it's worth clearing up first. California actually has three distinct "conference" or "notice" mechanisms that sound alike but serve completely different purposes:

Watch: Notice of Claim & Conference Explained | California Labor Board - worth watching for the DLSE process specifically, but note it's a different mechanism from the EEC covered in the rest of this article. If you're dealing with an individual wage claim rather than a filed PAGA lawsuit, that video's process applies.

What Actually Happens During an EEC?

Step 1: File the EEC request: Before or at the same time as the responsive pleading/initial appearance.

Step 2: Request the stay: The employer can request a stay of the litigation.

Step 3: Court issues the EEC order: Absent good cause to deny the request, the court schedules the EEC no later than 70 days after the order is entered.

Step 4: Employer identifies its position:

• cure

• dispute

• or both, depending on the allegations.

Step 5: The employer submits its cure plan or dispute statement: The cure plan is 21 days.

Step 6: Plaintiff responds: If a cure plan is submitted, plaintiff has up to 21 days to provide its confidential statement addressing the factual basis, penalties, fees/costs, settlement demand, and cure position.

Step 7: Conference: The neutral evaluates the dispute/cure/settlement issues.

Step 8: Cure proof if applicable: If the evaluator accepts the cure plan, the employer generally has 10 calendar days, or a longer agreed-upon or set period, to demonstrate completion.

Don't Miss the EEC Request Window

The EEC is not an option you can casually decide to pursue weeks into litigation. You generally must file the request before or at the same time as the employer's responsive pleading or other initial appearance. If you are considering the EEC, you must make the decision immediately after service.

Is the EEC Worth Requesting, or Should You Go Straight to Mediation?

This is the real strategic question, and the honest answer is: it depends on how well-documented your exposure already is.

The EEC tends to help when:

• The plaintiff's complaint is broad or vaguely pled, and forcing early specificity works in your favor.

• You have a genuine factual dispute about whether the alleged violations occurred at all.

• You want the confidentiality protection before committing to a settlement position.

Private mediation is often the better path when:

• Your exposure is already well-documented and unlikely to shrink under scrutiny. The EEC's briefing requirement won't change the underlying facts.

• Curing the violation would be more expensive under the EEC's "make whole" standard (unpaid wages, interest, and related costs) than a negotiated settlement.

• You want an experienced mediator's read on realistic settlement value, which the EEC often can't provide. Critics of the process point out that, because it occurs so early, with essentially no discovery completed, neither the neutral evaluator nor either party has sufficient information to value the case genuinely.

That last point is a real, acknowledged weakness in how the EEC currently operates. Courts themselves are split on how to run it. Some simply refer parties to a private mediator or a settlement judge, treating it as an outright settlement mechanism, while the LWDA's own FAQ describes it as a distinct in-court resolution process overseen by a neutral evaluator.

The practical form of the EEC can vary from court to court because the statute leaves significant procedural details to the court and the designated neutral.

Is Any of This About to Change?

Possibly. The LWDA issued proposed regulations on February 6, 2026, to formalize several PAGA processes, with a public comment period that closed March 23, 2026. The proposed regulations could materially affect how PAGA notices, administrative procedures, and post-filing reporting are handled, but they are not yet final rules. Employers should not treat the proposal as controlling law.

The ambiguity around how courts and the LWDA treat the EEC could get resolved with real, binding guidance in the near term. If you're weighing whether to request an EEC for an active case, track the regulatory timeline alongside your litigation calendar.

How to Prepare If You Request One?

1. Treat the confidential statement as a real filing, not a formality. It's shared with the plaintiff's counsel, so it must clearly lay out your dispute and any cure plan, with counsel involved from the start.

2. Don't over-disclose before you have to. The EEC allows both sides to gather information. Work with counsel on what to produce and what to hold back before the conference itself.

3. Before deciding whether to pursue the EEC or move straight to mediation, calculate the realistic cost of curing versus settling. Curing a wage statement violation, for example, requires making the employee fully whole, which can exceed a negotiated number.

4. Confirm how your specific court has been handling EECs. Given the split between courts and the LWDA's stated position, knowing your judge's actual practice matters more than knowing the statute's text alone.

If your exposure traces back to underlying wage-and-hour practices, that's worth auditing regardless of which resolution path you take. Our guide on running a wage-and-hour audit before a claim covers exactly the kind of documented review that strengthens your position, whether you end up at an EEC, in mediation, or in court. 

For a fuller picture of how PAGA claims move from notice to resolution, our complete guide to PAGA claims for California employers covers the process end to end. Our PAGA Defense team assesses which off-ramp actually fits your specific exposure before you commit to either path.

Conclusion

The PAGA Early Evaluation Conference lets an employer served with a PAGA lawsuit request a court-supervised, confidential conference with a neutral evaluator before discovery begins. The EEC's real value is forcing early specificity from a broadly pled complaint. But its usefulness depends heavily on how your particular court treats the process, since courts currently split between running it as a genuine evaluation and simply referring parties to private mediation.

If your exposure is already clear and well-documented, private mediation often resolves the case faster and cheaper than the EEC's confidential-statement process. If the complaint is vague or overbroad, the EEC's briefing requirement can do real work for your defense before either side spends money on discovery.

If you've been served with a PAGA lawsuit and are considering requesting an EEC, DefendMyBiz offers a free 15-minute consultation. Book a call with our employer defense team today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer: The above content is for informational purposes only. This is not legal or tax advice. Laws, IRS guidance, and withholding requirements can change, and outcomes depend on specific facts. You are advised to contact a qualified attorney for any legal advice.