California Labor Laws Payroll Errors

If an employer omits certain information or contains false information, they may be in violation of California labor laws and subject to legal penalties. An employer`s ability to deduct amounts from an employee`s wages due to cash shortages, equipment breakdowns or losses is expressly governed by orders of the Industrial Welfare Board and limited by court decisions. (Kerr`s Catering v Department of Industrial Relations (1962) 57 Cal.2d 319). In addition, several court decisions have significantly limited an employer`s ability to make a comparison with an employee`s salary. Barnhill v Sanders (1981) 125 Cal.App.3d 1, (the lump sum payment in the event of termination of employment to repay the employee`s debts to the employer is an illegal deduction, even if the employee has approved such payment in writing); CSEA v State of California (1988) 198 Cal.App.3d 374 (Illegal to deduct past wage advances that were incorrect from the current payroll); Hudgins v Nieman Marcus (1995) 34 Cal.App.4th 1109 (Deductions for unidentified returns from illegal commission sales.) If a pay slip does not include this information, if no payroll is provided, or if the payroll information is incorrect, the employer may be violating California labor laws.3 Some non-exempt employees may also receive a salary. Workers who are not exempt cannot receive less than the state minimum wage. Employees, non-exempt employees are also protected by California wage and labor laws — including overtime laws and laws requiring meal and rest breaks.4 California labor laws give employees a cause of action against their employers for pay violations and provide for certain common payroll deductions that are often made by employers and are illegal: It`s pretty common to assume that because you receive a huge commission payment on a paycheck, you really deserve it. You may have been overpaid by mistake! It doesn`t take much to accidentally reach a zero or extra number in an accounting and payroll table and then whoops! You`re welcome! An employee is overpaid. This happens much more often with commissions due to the amounts earned on commission sales.

If you don`t report the bug and only spend the money, your employer has the legal right to get that money back as they see fit. However, workers who are exempt from overtime and minimum wage laws may be exempt from the requirement that their pay slips show „total hours worked.” These include the following employees: If an employer makes a pay error that leads to underpayment of wages, even without the intention of wrongly withholding wages due to the employee, there is a violation of the law and the employer could be punished for late payment of wages. Labour Code, § 226 Abs. The pros and cons of wage claims and civil lawsuits are also discussed in this article. If an employee meets the test for an exempt employee, they may be exempt from certain payroll and working time laws, including the requirement that a pay report show the total number of hours worked. Yes. Your pay slips must be provided to you upon reasonable request, this request must be met by your employer as soon as possible, but no later than 21 calendar days from the date you make such a request. Since January 1, 2003, an employer`s failure to allow a current or former employee to view or copy his or her pay slips within the 21-day period entitles the current or former employee to recover a fine of $750.00 from the employer in a civil action before a court of competent jurisdiction.

California law defines a wage as the payment for work performed by an employee.1 Work in this context means work or services provided to an employer, not just physical labor.2 If an employer has false payroll information or lacks the required information, the employer may be in violation of California labor laws.12 Labor Code, Section 200 (a) [„Wages”. includes all amounts for work performed by employees of any kind, whether the amount is determined or determined by the time standard, task, piecework, commission basis or other method of calculation.”]. ↥ It is easy to assume that your pay stub reflects the exact calculation of your hours worked, the applicable direct or overtime rates and the appropriate payroll deductions in the correct amounts. However, employers often make mistakes when calculating payroll, and it is rare for the error to work to the employee`s advantage. In California, with a few exceptions (see table below), salaries must be paid at least twice per calendar month on days previously called regular pay days.