Effective April 12, 2012, California’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (the “DLSE”) updated the FAQs on the Wage Theft Protection Act, and also posted a revised “Notice to Employee” form providing an updated template that employers can use to satisfy the Act's written notice requirements. The updates reflect a continuing effort by the DLSE to clarify certain ambiguities highlighted by employers in the wake of the Act’s January 1, 2012, enactment, which requires employers to provide new hires with written notice specifying, among other items, the employee’s rate(s) of pay, designated pay day, whether the employer intends to claim allowances as part of the minimum wage, workers’ compensation provider information, and the name, address and telephone number of the employer.

The Revised Notice to Employee Form

The DLSE website provides templates that employers may use to comply with the Act's written notice requirements that contain all of the information that the DLSE deems material and necessary. Employers are not required to use the templates offered by the DLSE so long as the notices they use contain all of the information required by law and contained in the DLSE’s template.