Paystub Law
“An employer, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages, shall furnish to his or her employee, either as a detachable part of the check, draft, or voucher paying the employee’s wages, or separately if wages are paid by personal check or cash, ..." There are strict rules about what information these paystubs need to include.STATUTE
“An employer, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages, shall furnish to his or her employee, either as a detachable part of the check, draft, or voucher paying the employee’s wages, or separately if wages are paid by personal check or cash, an accurate itemized statement in writing showing (1) gross wages earned, (2) total hours worked by the employee, except as provided in subdivision (j), (3) the number of piece-rate units earned and any applicable piece rate if the employee is paid on a piece-rate basis, (4) all deductions, provided that all deductions made on written orders of the employee may be aggregated and shown as one item, (5) net wages earned, (6) the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid, (7) the name of the employee and only the last four digits of his or her social security number or an employee identification number other than a social security number, (8) the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer and, if the employer is a farm labor contractor, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1682, the name and address of the legal entity that secured the services of the employer, and (9) all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the corresponding number of hours worked at each hourly rate by the employee and, beginning July 1, 2013, if the employer is a temporary services employer as defined in Section 201.3, the rate of pay and the total hours worked for each temporary services assignment.”
California Labor Code Section 226(a)
APPLICATION
An employee may obtain statutory damages if he “suffer[s] injury as a result of a knowing and intentional failure by an employer to comply with” these requirements. Section 226(e)(1). For purposes of this provision, an employee suffers injury where “the employer fails to provide accurate and complete information as required … and the employee cannot promptly and easily determine from the wage statement alone … any of the … information required to be provided on the itemized wage statement….” Section 226(e)(2)(B).
Courts have held that “[w]age statements comply with § 226(a) when a plaintiff employee can ascertain the required information by performing simple math, using figures on the face of the wage statement.” Hernandez v. BCI Coca–Cola Bottling Co., 554 Fed.Appx. 661, 662 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Morgan v. United Retail Inc., 186 Cal.App.4th 1136, 113 Cal.Rptr.3d 10 (2010)).
PENALTY
As noted above, Section 226 requires that accurate wage statements must accompany employees’ paychecks and must include at least 9 specific pieces of information. When an employer fails to provide such compliant wage statements, the employee is entitled to recover actual damages or $50 for the first pay period and $100 for each subsequent pay periods in which violations occur, capped at $4000, plus costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.