Paycheck Stubs: The Document That Often Proves the Case

Pay stubs are required by California law — and they’re required to contain specific information. When they don’t, the missing information is often the key to the wage claim.

What Must Appear

California Labor Code § 226 requires that every pay stub include: gross wages earned, total hours worked (for non-exempt employees), all deductions, net wages, pay period dates, the employee’s name, the employer’s name and address, and the hourly rates in effect during the period. A pay stub that omits any required item is itself a violation.

Knowing pay stub deficiencies generate their own penalties. An employer who knowingly fails to include required information faces penalties of $50 for the first pay period and $100 for each subsequent period — up to $4,000 per employee. Workers who’ve never received a compliant pay stub can calculate that exposure quickly.

The California Wage Theft Recovery System gives workers the exact tools and templates to document violations, calculate what they’re owed, and file the right claims at the right agencies — without paying an attorney to get started. Request your free evaluation here.