New Anti-Wage Theft Law
One law that went into effect on January 1, 2012 will have an impact upon working men and woman in California. Labor Code section 2810.5 is called a wage theft law and requires that when an employee is hired she must receive a written notice stating the rate of pay and the basis of the pay whether it is hourly, salary, piece rate or some other form of compensation. The overtime rate also must be stated. The notice must also state the regular pay date, the name of the employer including any “doing business as” name, the address of the main office of the employer and the name, address and phone number of the workers compensation carrier. The laws are designed to prevent wage theft by specifying exactly what workers will be paid so that they can compare the wages and promises made when they are hired with what happens during employment.
The law also requires that if there are any changes, the employee must be given notice of the changes within 7 days.
This law supplements the law currently in effect that requires that employees be given a pay stub when they receive their paycheck. The pay stub must contain all hours worked, the rates of pay and the number of hours of each rate of pay, the net pay, all deductions and other important information. The law allows employers who pay by electronic deposit to make the same information electronically, provided the worker can print a copy of the pay stub at a computer kiosk.
One note of importance. The wage theft law is not applicable in union shops. The legislature assumed that union workers have knowledge of their pay through their collective bargaining agreement and through their union representatives. The pay stub law applies to all workers.
If you have friends who are being cheated they should look at both their paystubs and the initial notice to determine whether they are receiving the pay they are entitled to.