All employers in California must stay abreast of and comply with laws and regulations concerning paychecks and overtime. Specifically, employers must detail wage-related information on all employee paycheck stubs in California.

Since mid-2015, state law says employers are required to comply with 16 different requirements related to pay stubs (in certain cases). Here’s a list of some of the requirements.

First Nine Requirements of Paycheck Stubs

Up until July 1, 2015, employers in California were required to accurately detail specific information on pay stubs. This information included:

• Gross wages earned
• A complete listing of hours worked, excluding salaried employees.
• Piece rate units and the applicable rate, if necessary
• Any sort of deductions. These could include taxes, insurance, and health and welfare payments.
• Earned net wages
• Dates of the pay period (listed in an inclusive manner)
• The employees’ name, along with the last four digits of their Social Security number, or an Employee Identification Number
• The employer’s name and address (specifically, the legal employing entity)
• Hourly rates that were applicable during the payment period, and a breakdown of hours worked at specific hourly rates.

Additionally, California law has also mandated requirements relating to sick leave since July 2015. Employers must write out the number of available paid sick leave days on the pay stub, or on a separate note that is given to the employee once they are paid.

Employers who permit unlimited sick leave days must specifically note “unlimited” sick leave days on an employee’s wages statement or on a separate note.  The employee must receive this when paid.

Learn more about California’s final pay rules!

Additional Requirements

Employers who tie compensation to productivity must list additional information on employee paycheck stubs. That information must include:

• Hours of compensated rest and recovery during the pay period
• Compensation rate for these types of rest and recovery periods
• Gross wages paid for these rest and recovery periods

Employers who follow a productivity-based (piece work) compensation system who do not list out an hourly minimum wage base rate are also required to list more items on a pay stub. These include:

• Total hours of nonproductive time during the pay period that is compensable
• The rate of compensation for this type of time
• Gross wages paid out during the applicable pay period

Penalties for Lack of Compliance

California law imposes strict penalties on companies and businesses who do not follow the above pay stub stipulations. The Labor Code says an intentional and known failure to comply with the law could give affected workers the chance to collect $50 for the initial violation and a minimum of $100 for subsequent ones (capped at $4,000).

These types of stipulations could make it very costly for a company with a large number of employees to fail to adhere to the laws and regulations concerning pay stub information disclosure.

Since state officials have not released a template pay stub disclosing placement of the additional items (beyond the initial nine informational requirements), you should speak with experienced legal counsel to make sure you’re compliant.

The state’s Labor Commission has published a template pay stub that spells out where the initial nine informational requirements should be listed by an employer.

Are you an employer who needs assistance in staying compliant with paycheck stub requirements in California? Contact Hackler Flynn & Associates today!