Wage Statement Information Required in California

Employers in California must comply with these state requirements relating to wage statements.

An employer in California must semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages furnish each of its employees an itemized statement in writing showing:

• gross wages earned;
• total hours worked for each employee whose compensation is based on an hourly wage;
• all deductions, provided that all deductions made on written orders of the employee may be aggregated and shown as one item;
• net wages earned;
• the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is being paid;
• the name of the employee and the last four digits of the employee's Social Security number or employee identification number; and
• the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer.

The statement must be in the form of a detachable part of the check, draft or voucher paying the employee's wages or a separate document when wages are paid by personal check or cash.

An employer is in compliance with state law if overtime hours worked in a current pay period are itemized as corrections on the pay stub for the next regular pay period. The pay stub corrections must reflect the dates of the pay period that they refer to.

Wage Theft Protection Act. Beginning in 2012, the Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011 requires employers to provide each employee at the time of hire with a written notice that contains:

• the rates of pay (including rates for overtime)
• allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage
• the employer's regular payday
• the name of the employer, including any "doing business as" names
• the physical address of the employer's principal place of business or main office and mailing address if different
• the employer's telephone number
• the name, address and telephone number of the employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier
• any other information the Labor Commissioner deems necessary and material

Employers are required to notify employees in writing of any changes to this information within seven days of the time the change takes effect. Notice is not required if the changes are reflected on a timely wage statement or notice of the changes is made in another writing required by law within seven days of the changes.

California's Division of Labor Standards Enforcement has updated its Wage Theft Protection Act Notice to Employee form effective April 12, 2012. Employers must use the revised form for employees hired after April 12, 2012, and employers who previously provided notice to employees hired are required to issue a new notice if there is a substantial change in the provided information.

Effective July 1, 2013, a temporary services employer must also include on the temporary employee’s wage statement the rate of pay and the total hours worked for each temporary services assignment.