Employee compensation: itemized statements.

Existing law requires every employer, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages, to furnish each employee an accurate itemized statement in writing showing specified information, including, among other things, the name of the employee and the last 4 digits of his or her social security number or an employee identification number, the gross wages earned, all deductions, net wages earned, the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid, and the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer and, if the employer is a farm labor contractor, as defined, the name and address of the legal entity that secured the services of the employer. Existing law provides that an employee suffering injury as a result of a knowing and intentional failure by an employer to comply with this requirement is entitled to recover the greater of all actual damages or a specified sum, not exceeding an aggregate penalty of $4,000, and is entitled to an award of costs and reasonable attorney's fees. This bill would provide that an employee is deemed to suffer injury for purposes of the above-referenced penalty if the employer fails to provide a wage statement. The bill would also provide that an employee is deemed to suffer injury for that penalty if the employer fails to provide accurate and complete information, as specified, and the employee cannot promptly and easily determine from the wage statement alone the amount of the gross or net wages paid to the employee during the pay period or other specified information, the deductions the employer made from the gross wages to determine the net wages paid to the employee during the pay period, the name and address of the employer or legal entity that secured the services of the employer, and the name of the employee and only the last 4 digits of his or her social security number or an employee identification number other than a social security number, as specified. This bill would incorporate changes to Section 226 of the Labor Code proposed by AB 1744 and AB 2674, to be operative only if this bill and either or both of these bills are chaptered and became effective on or before January 1, 2013, and this bill is chaptered last.