72 Litigating CA Wage & Hour Class and PAGA Actions (23rd Edition) Seyfarth Shaw LLP | www.seyfarth.com workweek schedule, failed to pay required overtime wages.346 The plaintiff sought Section 226 penalties for the wage statements’ failure to state what overtime wages she should have been paid.347 Maldonado corrected this misreading of Section 226, explaining that the Legislature wanted wage statements to accurately report the amounts of hours worked and wages paid—not what the employee would have been paid in the absence of an employer error.348 Because the employer’s wage statements accurately stated the wages actually paid, there was no violation of Section 226(a).349 B. Purpose Of The Wage Statement Statute In Savea v. YRC, the Court of Appeal examined the purpose behind Labor Code section 226, and noted that it was intended to ensure that employees can understand what they are being paid, so they can evaluate if they have been compensated properly for all of their work.350 Savea observed that the Legislature had required wage statements to include the employer’s name and address for workers compensation and tax purposes, and also so that the employer could be contacted regarding any question about wages paid.351 Savea held that there was no requirement to include the exact legal name, as long as employees could properly identify and contact the employer.352 The Ninth Circuit went further in Mays v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., holding that Wal-Mart wage statements could list the name of the employer as “Wal-Mart Associates, Inc.” even though the actual employer was “Wal-Mart Stores, 346 Id. at 1328. 347 Id. at 1336. 348 Id. at 1336-37 349 Id. Since Maldonado, numerous district courts have dismissed derivative wage statement claims based on the same rationale. See, e.g., Hines v. Constellis Integrated Risk Mgmt. Servs., 2020 WL 5764400, at *6 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 25, 2020) (dismissing wage statement claims; “Plaintiff appears to allege ‘only that the amount he was paid was incorrect, not that the wage statements inaccurately reflected the wages he was paid. ... Accordingly, the wage statements do not violate § 226(a) even if the amount paid was incorrect.’”) (citing Maldonado); Sherman v. Schneider Nat'l Carriers, Inc., 2019 WL 3220585, at *5 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 6, 2019) (dismissing wage statement claims; “The purpose of section 226 is to ‘document the paid wages to ensure the employee is fully informed regarding the calculation of those wages.’” … Here, Plaintiff has alleged only that the amount he was paid was incorrect, not that the wage statements inaccurately reflected the wages he was paid. In fact, Plaintiff's opposition implicitly concedes that the wage statements accurately stated the wages actually paid. Accordingly, the wage statements do not violate § 226(a) even if the amount paid was incorrect.”); Castro v. WalMart, Inc., 2020 WL 4748167, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 17, 2020) (dismissing wage statement claims; “Here, it is undisputed that the wage statements accurately reflected the calculation of the wages that were actually paid to Plaintiff. And although those wages do not accurately reflect the ‘wages earned,’ Plaintiff cannot also recover for that violation under Section 226.”); Sanchez v. New York & Co. Stores, Inc., 2020 WL 5498066, at *3 (C.D. Cal. June 29, 2020) (dismissing wage statement claims; “Pursuant to the court's holding in Maldonado, Defendants were required only to furnish wage statements that reflected the hours worked and wages earned, not what the wages might be if the court later determines that Defendants failed to pay sufficient overtime wages. Therefore, Defendants' alleged failure to include unpaid overtime wages on the wage statement is not a proper basis for a claim under § 226(a)”). However, unpaid meal and rest premiums may trigger derivative wage statement penalties. Naranjo, 13 Cal. 5th at 121. 350 Id. at 178-179. 351 Id. at 180. 352 Id.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTkwMTQ4