K–14 classified employees: payment of wages: itemized statements.

Assembly Member Nguyen, joined by principal coauthor Senator Cervantes and colleagues Muratsuchi and Michelle Rodriguez, advances a measure that would require public school employers and community college districts to provide classified employees with a precise, itemized wage statement at every payday. The statement would present gross wages, total hours worked, all deductions (with the option to consolidate deductions from written orders), net wages, the pay period’s inclusive dates, the employee’s name and a privacy-protective identifier, the employer’s name and address, all applicable hourly rates and the hours or units tied to each rate, and the total hours of paid and unpaid leave with the respective rates. Deductions would be recorded in indelible form and kept for at least three years at a designated location, and current and former classified employees would have the right to inspect or obtain copies of employment records.

Beginning with the 2026–27 school year, the requirements would apply to K–14 classified employees and to classified employees of community college districts. The wage statement may be delivered as a detachable portion of the paycheck, a printed statement issued with direct deposit, or a digital statement accessible through a secure portal at no cost to the employee. In cases where compensation is salary-based or the employee falls within specified exemptions, the statement would not be required to show hourly rates or total hours. The bill also provides for compliance timelines: requests to inspect records must be fulfilled as soon as practicable, but no later than 21 calendar days, with an identity-verification step and a possible designation of a specific official to handle requests; copies may incur the actual cost of reproduction.

The measure creates parallel, Education Code wage-statement requirements for two sectors of public education. It defines “classified school employee” and clarifies who qualifies as a “public school employer” for K–14, while for community colleges it defines “classified school employee” in the non-academic context and identifies the district as the employer. The bill contemplates ancillary regulations to implement and clarify the new provisions, but does not designate a specific regulatory agency within the text. It does not specify penalties or a private right of action, and it states that no appropriation is required to enact the changes, leaving cost considerations to local districts’ payroll systems, training needs, and potential portal enhancements. The sponsors describe the intent as providing classified public school and community college employees with pay-stub information aligned with private-sector standards and ensuring access to records.