Wednesday, January 8, Governor DeWine officially signed the Paystub Protection Act, with Central Ohio Worker Center (COWC) and Policy Matters Ohio staff by his side. In this important move, Ohio now joins 41 other states in requiring employers to provide earnings and deductions statements to each of the employer's employees.

The bill, which received unanimous support in both the House and the Senate earlier in 2024, goes into effect in April. The bill was sponsored by Representatives Dontravius L Jarrells and P. Scott Lipps, with 14 additional co-sponsors. COWC, along with Policy Matters Ohio, have been working to support the act's passage along the way. During testimony to the Ohio Senate in December, Claudia Cortez, Program Director of COWC, shared that this will “help ensure that workers are paid fairly and transparently by providing them with a clear breakdown of wages and deductions. Pay stubs are also often necessary for workers needing proof of income for housing, loans, and other financial requirements.” 

The passage of the Paystub Protect Act will provide workers with better access to their records of payment, making it much easier to prove if they have experienced wage theft. Wage Theft is the most common form of theft in the United States and can happen by not paying employees for the hours worked, not meeting minimum wage requirements, or not compensating for overtime, amongst other ways. In October, COWC staff shared testimony from a worker who had experienced wage theft saying “We were supposed to receive bi-weekly payments of around $1,700 to $1,900. However, we only received $650. For a long time, we attempted to resolve these discrepancies, but without a pay stub containing all the necessary details, we were unable to prove the discrepancies or fight for what we were owed, which is crucial for our wage theft case.” This is one of many examples and ways Wage Theft takes place and how this bill can protect workers.

In Columbus, this will bolster the work that can be done under theWage Theft Enforcement and Protection ordinance, which became law in January 2021and included the creation of the Labor Commission. The Labor Commission aims to enforce the wage theft, payroll fraud, and employee misclassification provisions of the ordinance. 

The Paystub Protection Act will support workers to be paid fairly and accurately. Isbel Alvarado, the Case Manager at COWC, shares “when workers receive paystubs, they can identify any discrepancies in their earnings and attempt to correct mistakes. With this new protection, employees will have crucial information, such as the employer's name (which is often an issue in cases of wage theft), total gross and net wages earned, additions and deductions, pay date and period covered, total hours worked, hourly wage rate, and hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek for hourly employees. This relevant information legitimizes employment and equips employees to protect themselves against potential wage theft by using paystubs as evidence in their complaints.”