Are Employers Obligated to Provide Pay Stubs for Employees in the USA?

Pay Stubs are a critical part of payroll management because they prove that the employer and the employee agree about the pay structure. Labor laws require all employers to keep a detailed record of their employee’s basic employment information, such as full names, addresses, social security numbers, employment status, and wages.

But there is no federal requirement to provide a pay stub to your employees. Still, state laws may vary, so the answer to this question is a yes and no.

What Is a Pay Stub?

A paystub is a document issued by an employer to their employee offering a breakdown of the employee’s pay. A typical paystub will indicate an employee’s name, social security number, pay period, gross pay, deductions, overtime hours, and any other information relevant to the employee’s wage.

While there are no federal requirements for issuing employees with pay stubs, states have different approaches to paystubs, with some having it as a mandatory requirement while others don’t.

Paystub Requirements per States

A total of 26 states have a pay stub requirement for employers. Generally, the reasonable interpretation of the paystub requirements is that employers can issue a print or a digital paystub to their employees. However, some states have express requirements for issuing printed pay stubs. It is essential to understand what your requirements are to ensure compliance.

Another nine states, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, South Dakota, and Tennessee, do not have paystub requirements. Other states allow employees to choose the format of pay stubs they want to receive. For example, employees in Delaware, Minnesota, and Oregon can opt out of paperless pay stubs to get printed copies from their employees.

In Hawaii, employers can only issue paperless pay stubs to employees with their consent. Otherwise, the law requires that they provide their employees with a printed copy.

How to Easily Create Pay Stubs for a Small Company

Creating a pay stub can be painstaking, especially if you do it manually. Thankfully you do not have to do it manually. You can go to a website like FormPros to create a paystub in a few easy steps.

Using an online paystub generator like FormPros offers several advantages, the most prominent being saving time and money. It also helps keep your pay stub generation 100% secure and private.

So if you are a small company hoping to generate pay stubs for your employees and do not have the finances to hire an accountant, online paystub generation is the way to go.

Why Should You Issue Your Employees With a Paystub?

The first reason to issue your employees with a paystub is compliance. If you live in a state that requires the issuance of pay stubs, failure to issue your employees with them can get you into legal problems.

Even where the state allows employers to choose, it is still a good idea to issue employees with pay stubs. Below are some good reasons for issuing your employees with pay stubs.

Enhancing Transparency

Employees want to know that they are fairly reimbursed for the amount of work they do. With the issuance of a paystub, an employee can see the hours they have put into work and the pay they receive, which helps increase transparency and, ultimately, employee morale.

It Helps Employees Access Financing

A paystub is generally accepted as proof of employment when seeking financing. So issuing employees with one ensures they have access to financing when needed. Access to financing is a factor in employee satisfaction, so ensuring they get their pay stubs is an excellent way to boost that satisfaction.

Makes the Tax Season Much Easier

Paystubs provide a detailed account of an employee’s earnings, including taxes withheld by the employer for every payment period. This helps employees better understand their tax obligations and resolve disputes that may arise at the end of the tax season, such as when the W2 form has errors.