AB 2674 has been signed into law, amending the recordkeeping and inspection provisions under Labor Code § 226 and reducing the violations of these provisions from a misdemeanor to an infraction.
Existing law requires that every employer, semimonthly or
at the time of each payment of wages, furnish to 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 accurate itemized statement
in writing showing specified items. Existing law requires an
employer to keep a copy of the statement and the record of
deductions on file for at least 3 years at the place of employment
or at a central location within the State of California.
This bill would provide that the term “copy,” for purposes of
these provisions, includes a duplicate of the itemized statement
provided to an employee or a computer-generated record that
accurately shows all of the information that existing law requires
to be included in the itemized statement.
Under existing law, an employee has the right to inspect the
personnel records that his or her employer maintains relating to
the employee’s performance or to any grievance concerning the
employee.
This bill would require an employer to maintain personnel
records for a specified period of time and to provide a current or
former employee, or his or her representative, an opportunity to
inspect and receive a copy of those records within a specified
period of time, except during the pendency of a lawsuit filed by
the employee or former employer relating to a personnel matter.
The bill would provide that an employer is not required to comply
with more than 50 requests for a copy of the above-described
records filed by a representative or representatives of employees
in one calendar month. The bill would provide that the above
provisions shall not apply with respect to an employee covered by
a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement provides,
among other things, for a procedure for inspection and copying of
personnel records. In the event an employer violates these
provisions, the bill would permit a current or former employee or
the Labor Commissioner to recover a penalty of $750 from the
employer, and would further permit a current or former employee
to obtain injunctive relief and attorney’s fees.
Under existing law, an employer who fails to permit an employee
to inspect the employee’s personnel records is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine or imprisonment, as specified.
This bill would, instead, provide that a violation of the above
provisions requiring that personnel records be made available for
inspection constitutes an infraction.
You can read the full text of the bill here in PDF.