Vacation Accruals and Other Paystub Requirements

An employment attorney and friend of our firm posted the following on LinkedIn:

“A client received a valid claim from a former employee for a small amount of unpaid vacation at the conclusion of their employment. It turned out the [very large] payroll service updated vacation accrual only at the end of the month. Because the employee was terminated mid-month, the reconciliation did not show the latest accrual.

Opposing counsel noticed the discrepancy when their client’s vacation accrual was the same on both their last regular check and on their final check. There should have been an additional small accrual because the employee had not used any vacation during that time. Employers should double check with whoever calculates their vacation accrual that it is showing up in final checks, and employers might want to check when the accrual is updated.”

This provides a great time to remind employers of the California labor law requirements for paystubs being itemized, and include the following information:

1. Employee name and last four digits of Social Security Number (SSN) or Employee ID Number (EIN)
2. What pay period the paystub is for
3. Gross Wages (without deductions) for the pay period
4. Total hours worked by the employee
5. Breakdown of regular vs. overtime hours
6. Any meal or rest break pay penalties
7. All deductions (tax withholdings, 401(k) contributions
8. Net wages earner (gross wages minus deductions)
9. Legal Name of the employer
10. Address of employer
11. Amount of sick leave the employee has accrued
12. Amount of vacation leave the employee has accrued

Employers should check employees’ paystubs to make sure they are in compliance and check with your payroll service about vacation accruals among these other items.

JorgensenHR and our sister companies Strategies for HR and Quad-County HR can assist you with review of your paystubs.

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