In addition to updating its California Paid Sick Leave FAQ’s, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) recently updated its Paid Sick Leave Poster and statutory Wage Theft Notice (Notice). The newly updated Notice is provided ahead of its statutory March 1, 2024, deadline. However, as of the date of this article, the updated Notice is currently only available in English (See below for additional details).

California’s Wage Theft Protection Act (WTPA) requires all employers to provide newly hired non-exempt employees with a written notice that contains all the following information:

• The rate or rates of pay and basis thereof, whether paid by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or otherwise, including any rates for overtime, as applicable.
• Allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage, including meal or lodging allowances.
• The regular payday designated by the employer in accordance with the requirements of this code.
• The name of the employer, including any “doing business as” names used by the employer.
• The physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address, if different.
• The telephone number of the employer.
• The name, address, and telephone number of the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
• That an employee: may accrue and use sick leave; has a right to request and use accrued paid sick leave; may not be terminated or retaliated against for using or requesting the use of accrued paid sick leave; and has the right to file a complaint against an employer who retaliates.
• Any other information the Labor Commissioner deems material and necessary.

This last bullet point is especially important to note this year. AB 636 now requires an employer, as of March 15, 2024, to provide an updated Notice to H-2A and non-H-2A workers that includes additional information on “the existence of a federal or state emergency or disaster declaration applicable to the county or counties where the employee is to be employed, and that was issued within the 30 days preceding the employee’s first day of employment.”

The DIR still has until March 1, 2024, to provide another updated Notice with the additional emergency/disaster declaration information in both Spanish and English. We will continue to monitor DIR communications and provide updates as the March deadline approaches.