Labor Employment Law Blog

In the recent decision of Cicairos v. Summit Logistics, Inc., C048133 (October 27, 2005), the California Court of Appeal discussed a lawsuit brought by five truck drivers for various Labor Code violations, including an alleged failure by the employer to provide valid pay stubs each pay period. Although the decision did not necessarily set forth any new legal rules, it certainly highlights the employer's obligation to carefully follow California's pay stub law: Labor Code section 226.

Section 226 requires that all employers must provide pay stubs that include the following nine pieces of information:

1. gross wages earned
2. total hours worked by the employee
3. the number of piece-rate units earned by the employee (where the employee is paid on a piece-rate basis)
4. all deductions
5. net wages earned
6. the inclusive dates of the pay period in question
7. the name of the employee and his or her social security number, except that by January 1, 2008, only the last four digits of the social security number may be shown,
8. the name and address of the employer; and
9. all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the corresponding number of hours worked at each rate by the employee.

Moreover, according to the Cicairos court, the rules set forth by Section 226 must be followed exactly. For example, each of the Cicairos plaintiffs received pay stubs that identified the employer as "Summit." However, because the full name of the employer was "Summit Logistics, Inc.," the court found that there was Section 226 violation.

Given that Labor Code section 226 violations can lead to penalties of several thousand dollars per employee, it is important to make certain that all pay stubs are properly drafted and in full compliance with the law.