Change to Wage Theft Prevention Notice

“I’ve heard California’s new sick leave law has more to it than just giving my employees the sick leave. What else does it cover?”

My HR Survival Tip

You heard right! You’ll hear more from me about the quirks of this new law but one aspect affects a form you (hopefully) are using… the Non-Exempt Wage Theft Prevention Notice.

This form was originally named the “Non-Exempt New Hire Notice” when it was first introduced in 2011. The idea was to give employees the information needed to ensure they were paid correctly. It was a bad name from the start because you are required to give this notice to hourly employees when hired and again whenever their pay changes. Since this form is part of California’s Wage Theft Prevention Act, it was renamed accordingly.

You must personalize each copy because the form includes the employee’s hourly rate for regular, overtime, and double time. Save yourself time by entering the other information on a master copy:

• Your company’s legal business name, DBA, and contact information
  Your worker’s compensation insurance information
  Your pay period and
  Now, thanks to the sick leave law, it also must include notification about your sick leave policy.

You might think you’re getting off easy if you haven’t been using it because no fines or penalties are attached to it. But you’d be wrong. NOT using it is taken as a sign that your company is just not trying to be compliant. I know, I know… that’s irritating because California does nothing to inform you of all these pesky forms and laws.

If you haven’t been using the form, start immediately. If you are using it, make sure it’s updated appropriately to include the required sick leave language. Having to deal with various required employment forms can be a pain in the neck but that’s better than a pain in the pocketbook!