Employers are required to provide their employees with a paystub or wage statement.  The paystub must include an accurate itemized statement in writing that includes nine (9) specific items information:

  1. Gross wages earned;
  2. Total hours worked by the employee;
  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 only the last four digits of his or her social security number or an employee identification number other than a 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.

If an employee’s paystubs do not include all of this required information, then the employee is entitled to recover a penalty of $50.00 for the initial pay period in which a violation occurred and $100.00 for each subsequent pay period in which a violation occurred.  There is a $4,000 cap on the employee’s recovery of these penalties.  You should review your paystubs and cross-reference them with the list above to confirm whether or not your employee is complying with this legal requirement.  If your paystubs do not comply with the law, then you may be entitled to recover these penalties from your employee or prior employer.