In January 2012 the California Wage Theft Protection Act took effect. Under California Labor Code Section 2810.5 employers are required to provide notice to employees of their rate(s) of pay, designated pay day, the employer’s intent to claim allowances (meal or lodging) as part of the minimum wage, and the basis of wage payment (hour, shift, day, week, etc.) including any applicable rates for overtime. The law protects workers and defines the way they are notified of important employment information.
Recently the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) revised the mandatory wage notice template as well as the FAQ’s.
Some of the changes include:
- As of April 11, 2012 the template has been revised and updated allowing for an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AoR) section, which is optional. Utilizing the AoR, employer and employee signatures may provide greater assurance that the notice was in fact provided by the employer and received by the employee.
- Distinctions must be maintained between the “rate or rates of pay” and “a regular rate of pay” for purposes of specifying and calculating statutory overtime compensation.
- The notice must be provided before the employee’s start date.
- The template no longer indicates designation of the employment agreement as “written” or “oral”, but rather requires designation of whether a written agreement exists which provides for the rate(s) of pay. (This has no bearing on the California “At Will” nature of the employment relationship.)
- The law requires that changes to information must be accomplished by issuing a new notice containing all changes within 7 calendar days after the change.
- The notice must include the employer’s full formal legal name as well as “doing business as” (DBA) names.
- California employers must use the updated (4/2012) notice for any new hires, however, they do not need to reissue the notice to current employees.
- There is additional required information for staffing agencies or related businesses.