Many states already require certain information to be provided to the employees on their paystubs. For example, California Labor Code section 226(a) has specific requirements of the type of information that must be provided on employee wage statements. That section provides:

Every employer shall semimonthly, or at the time of each payment of wages, furnish 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 itemized statement in writing showing: (1) gross wages earned; (2) total hours worked by each employee whose compensation is based on an hourly wage; (3) all deductions; provided, that all deductions made on written orders of the employee may be aggregated and shown as one item; (4) net wages earned; (5) the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid; (6) the name of the employee and his or her social security number; and (7) the name and address of the legal entity which is the employer.

Many California employers, as well as out-of-state employers, often are unaware of this requirement, which can expose them to substantial penalties, even for minor, technical violations of this section.