Required 2023 New Hire Documents For California Employers

State and federal law requires completion of the following documents at the time of hire:

• Form I-9: Used to verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. Federal law requires the Form be by the the employee’s third day of work.

• Form W-4: Completion of Form W-4 is required and ensures the correct federal income tax is withheld from the employee’s pay.

• Form DE4: Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate is used to ensure correct withholding of California State income tax.

• Time of Hire Pamphlet: The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) requires employers to provide new hires with a completed Time of Hire Pamphlet no later than the end of their first pay period.

• DLSE-NTE:  The DLSE-NTE is a template created by the DIR for compliance with the Wage Theft Prevention Act which requires employers to provide new hires with a notice upon hire that sets forth various items of required information, including the employer’s legal name and address, the employee’s rate of pay, and the employer’s paid sick leave policy.

California law also requires employers to provide new hires with the following documents:

• California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (DFEH) Sexual Harassment pamphlet, DFEH-185.

• California Employment Development Department’s (EDD) Paid Family Leave Insurance pamphlet, DE 2511.

• California Employment Development Department’s Disability Insurance Provisions pamphlet, DE 2515.

• California Labor Commissioner’s notice on the Rights of Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking.

• A policy on lactation accommodation that complies with SB 142 must be included in the employee handbook or provided to employee’s at the time of hire.

Additional Employer Resources:

• EDD’s e-Services for Business: This is where new employers can apply for an EDD account number, complete reporting requirements such as The Report of New Employee(s) (DE 34) and Report of Independent Contractor(s) (DE 542) and find additional resources for California employers.

• The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System® tax payment service, EFTPS, may be used to make, cancel and review employer tax payments.

• California Minimum Wage requirements.  As of January 1, 2023 California’s minimum wage is $15.50 per hour.  The change in the minimum wage also affects the minimum salary an employee must earn to meet one part of the overtime exemption test. Exempt employees are not subject to the payment of overtime for working overtime hours. An employee must earn no less than two times the state’s minimum wage for full-time work to meet this initial requirement of the exemption test. As of January 1, 2023, employees in California must earn an annual salary of no less than $64,480 to meet this threshold requirement.

• Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014 (AB 1522)

• California state law requires employers of California workers to participate in CalSavers if they do not sponsor a retirement plan and have one or more eligible employee. Each activity must be completed by specific deadlines.

• As of January 1, 2023, the IRS increased the mileage reimbursement rate to 65.5 cents per mile driven for business use.

Prevailing Wage Compliance:

• All employers performing work on public works projects must adhere to strict Prevailing Wage Compliance Requirements and register with the Department of Industrial relations annually (July 1st – June 30th) here: DIR Contractor Registration. 

• Access to training seminars, tutorial videos, FAQ’s and other requirements are available at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/Training_and_Tutorials.html.

• Certified Payroll Reports must be filed regularly, with some exceptions.  Follow the link for details.

• Training fund contributions can be made to an approved fund or the California Apprenticeship Council.  The following link may be used to prepare your monthly training fund invoice: CAC - Training Fund Contributions.  Be sure to mail a copy with your training fund contributions and keep a copy for your records.

Resale Certificates & Sales Tax:

• Visit the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to register for a seller’s permit, file sales tax returns and pay taxes, keep up to date on sales tax rates, and more. 

• When it comes to sales tax it is important to note that California is a destination state.  If your business mails or delivers products to the consumer, you must determine the correct sales tax rate and district.  It is especially important to note that a sales tax district may vary from one address to another even within close proximity of each other.  This is especially true in Bakersfield and throughout Kern County.  The CDTFA makes it easy to determine sales tax rates and districts with their Find a Sales and Use Tax Rate tool. 

General Links:

• The IRS allows eligible businesses to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) online Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST.

• The California Secretary of State website may be used for LLC and Corporation Formations, New Business Registrations, Statement of Information filings, and Trademark registrations or modifications.   

• Many California employers utilized the SBA COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan.  Loan repayment has begun for most borrowers.  Visit https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/3723407 to set-up one time, or recurring payments.

• It is quick and easy to make payments to the Franchise Tax Board online using the FTB’s Web Pay service.

• The Internal Revenue Service also offers an easy, online payment system with IRS Direct Pay.