Good Faith Pay Errors by California Bosses Don’t Merit Penalties

Employers who reasonably and in good faith think pay stubs they issue are complete and accurate don’t need to pay penalties that would otherwise accompany a “knowing and intentional” failure to follow wage statement law, California’s high court ruled Monday.

Associate Justice Leondra R. Kruger wrote in a California Supreme Court opinion that civil penalties won’t deter repeat mistakes among businesses that believe their wage statements follow the law.

In a case likely to shape how California employers are held responsible for incorrect pay stubs, the California Supreme Court was asked to weigh in on when an employer’s failure to ...