BILL NUMBER: AB 2412 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 933
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 26, 2002
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2002
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2002
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 14, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 13, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 14, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Diaz
FEBRUARY 21, 2002
An act to amend Section 226 of the Labor Code, relating to
employer payroll records.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2412, Diaz. Enforcement of employees' access to payroll
records.
Existing law provides that employers must furnish their employees
with certain information regarding compensation and deductions
therefrom. Existing law also provides that current or former
employees of an employer have the right to inspect and copy these
records.
This bill would require employers to comply with requests from
current or former employees to inspect or copy these records within
21 calendar days from the date of the request. The bill would make a
violation of this requirement an infraction, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program.
This bill also provides for a civil penalty against employers who
fail to comply with requests to inspect and copy these records, and
for injunctive relief to ensure compliance with employers' duties
pursuant to current and former employees' payroll records.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 226 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
226. (a) Every employer shall, semimonthly or at the time of each
payment of wages, furnish each of his or her employees, either as a
detachable part of the check, draft, or voucher paying the employee's
wages, or separately when wages are paid by personal check or cash,
an itemized statement in writing showing (1) gross wages earned, (2)
total hours worked by the employee, except for any employee whose
compensation is solely based on a salary and who is exempt from
payment of overtime under subdivision (a) of Section 515 or any
applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, (3) the number
of piece-rate units earned and any applicable piece rate if the
employee is paid on a piece-rate basis, (4) all deductions, provided,
that all deductions made on written orders of the employee may be
aggregated and shown as one item, (5) net wages earned, (6) the
inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid, (7) the
name of the employee and his or her social security number, (8) the
name and address of the legal entity that is the employer, and (9)
all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the
corresponding number of hours worked at each hourly rate by the
employee. The deductions made from payments of wages shall be
recorded in ink or other indelible form, properly dated, showing the
month, day, and year, and a copy of the statement or a record of the
deductions shall be kept on file by the employer for at least three
years at the place of employment or at a central location within the
State of California.
(b) An employer that is required by this code or any regulation
adopted pursuant to this code to keep the information required by
subdivision (a) shall afford current and former employees the right
to inspect or copy the records pertaining to that current or former
employee, upon reasonable request to the employer. The employer may
take reasonable steps to assure the identity of a current or former
employee. If the employer provides copies of the records, the actual
cost of reproduction may be charged to the current or former
employee.
(c) An employer who receives a written or oral request to inspect
or copy records pursuant to subdivision (b) pertaining to a current
or former employee shall comply with the request as soon as
practicable, but no later than 21 calendar days from the date of the
request. A violation of this subdivision is an infraction.
Impossibility of performance, not caused by or a result of a
violation of law, shall be an affirmative defense for an employer in
any action alleging a violation of this subdivision. An employer may
designate the person to whom a request under this subdivision will
be made.
(d) This section does not apply to any employer of any person
employed by the owner or occupant of a residential dwelling whose
duties are incidental to the ownership, maintenance, or use of the
dwelling, including the care and supervision of children, or whose
duties are personal and not in the course of the trade, business,
profession, or occupation of the owner or occupant.
(e) An employee suffering injury as a result of a knowing and
intentional failure by an employer to comply with subdivision (a) is
entitled to recover the greater of all actual damages or fifty
dollars ($50) for the initial pay period in which a violation occurs
and one hundred dollars ($100) per employee for each violation in a
subsequent pay period, not exceeding an aggregate penalty of four
thousand dollars ($4,000), and is entitled to an award of costs and
reasonable attorney's fees.
(f) A failure by an employer to permit a current or former
employee to inspect or copy records within the time set forth in
subdivision (c) entitles the current or former employee or the Labor
Commissioner to recover a seven hundred fifty dollar ($750) penalty
from the employer.
(g) An employee may also bring an action for injunctive relief to
ensure compliance with this section, and is entitled to an award of
costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(h) This section does not apply to the state, or any city, county,
city and county, district, or any other governmental entity.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.